An Interwoven Web Of Deceit
by Kalariona
Summary: Chapter 19! Yay! Naruto begins to get headaches that no one can explain. He also begins to hear strange voices that he doesn't recognise and no one else can hear. Secrets are being kept and lies are covering more lies. SasuNaru Yaoi
1. Default Chapter

If you see any name or grammar errors, please tell me. I'm sure I got some of the spelling wrong.

Please review. I would love to hear your views.

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An Interwoven Web Of Deceit

Ino - My View On Naruto Is……

The sun was shining brightly, as it should have been in that part of the country. Shopkeepers were just opening up shop, placing items on their special boards. Children were running through the streets, playing their silly games and the shoppers were only just walking the streets, beginning their daily routine.

Ino was bored.

She was annoyed with herself for feeling that way, especially at the start of the day, but that was how it was. She had already called on Shikamaru and Choji but both of them were still asleep, not surprisingly. Anyway, it was their day off. Sakura was helping around the house and Sasuke hadn't appeared yet. As bored as she was, there was no way she was going to help out in her mothers shop today. She'd had enough of it and had escaped the house early that morning. This being the reason she was strolling through the streets early that morning.

Walking past the public baths, she was just thinking how quiet it was when screaming came from the ladies section. And a few seconds later, a man in red and white, with white hair came running past her, followed by bath products and hair utensils.

"PERVERT!" came the screams. Ino sighed and began gathering everything up and then took it back into the baths. She then began walking again, heading towards the training ground.

"I might as well get in a bit of practice," she thought. "If I don't, I'll fall behind and the last thing I want is to be weaker than Sakura."

These thoughts stopped when she heard sounds coming from ahead of her. Curiously, she moved forward, keeping herself downwind until she spotted the person near the practice poles.

"Naruto?"

Ino didn't think that Naruto got up this early. She imagined him to be the kind of person who slept in late, ate a quick brunch and then spent the day roaming the streets, pulling pranks on people.

Staring at him now, this shot her theory of him out of the window. Considering the mass array of weapons and the state the pole was in, he had obviously been here a while. Did this happen often? Ino didn't know much about the blonde boy, other than what she heard muttered. In school, he acted as interested in schoolwork as Shikamaru and as sensible as Kiba. The last in the class and laughed at by everyone. When she mentioned him to her parents once, they had looked uncomfortable, even guilty about something, and then had changed the subject. Other people she had met, usually by coming into her parents shop, had bad mouthed him quite often, but when she had asked what he had done, they had clamed up and refused to say anything else. At the time, being young, she had dismissed it, not really caring.

Recently, Naruto had been showing parts of himself that no one had seen before. During the Chunnin exams, in his fight with Kiba, he had shown skills that no one thought he had, and when he had fought Neji, she had been shocked at how powerful he had become. At the time though, she had been more interested in Sasuke's fight.

Sasuke.

Ino had finally grown out of her Sasuke obsession and moved on. Sure, he was still the most gorgeous boy in Konoha, but she couldn't stand his attitude, and when he had run off to join the snake, Orochimaru, what he was really like had hit her. Poor Sakura was still hung up on him.

A loud crack interrupted her musings and she looked up to see the practice pole that Naruto had been using, broken in two. Naruto stood before the two splintered pieces, his breathing slightly harder, with blood dripping from his knuckles.

"Damnit," Ino heard him curse then watched him sit down, leaning against the part of pole that was buried in the ground. He began to rub his fingers over his scrapes and Ino saw him wince slightly.

Shikamaru had told Ino that it was Naruto that had brought Sasuke back. He had not given up on his friend and had made sure everyone had come back alive, although injured. She stared at the still seated Naruto, and made up her mind.

Naruto looked up at her when she pushed through the foliage that she had been hiding behind and gave her a confused smile. The smile had been pasted on, Ino noticed. It was a quick twist of facial featured done in a blink or you'll miss it way. Ino surmised that Naruto was so used to doing it that he didn't realise he did it anymore.

"Ino, what are you doing here?"

Ino winced slightly. She never hung out with Naruto, so of course he wouldn't chat to her familiarly and would be surprised to see her. She had noticed that he was a very friendly person and he cared deeply about his friends. She could have used the excuse that she never had the time to get to know him, but she would have been lying. She had decided to change that. Despite Naruto's idiotic nature, he had a heart of gold and Ino decided it was about time she got to know him.

"I'm not disturbing you am I?" she asked, stopping in front of the seated boy. "If I am, I could leave."

"No," Naruto waved a hand in front of him. "Stay, I don't mind."

Ino sat down in front of him and then pulled out a clean tissue and her water bottle. After wetting the tissue, she grabbed one of Naruto's hands and began dabbing at the cuts.

"What are you doing?"

"Cleaning your wounds," Ino replied, still dabbing. "I don't know why boys feel the need to train to the point of injury. It just takes longer to recover." She dropped his hand and reached for the other. "They also get infected." She stared down at Naruto's other hand in slight surprise. The knuckles had already begun healing. She washed away the now dried blood to only find small, half healed cuts. Naruto snatched his hand away.

"Well I don't," Naruto leaned back and stared at the sky. "I suppose you could say that I'm lucky like that." Ino noted that his eyes darkened as he said this. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question. Why are you here?"

Ino dropped her eyes and stared at her lap. "I was bored."

"Figures," was the reply. "No one would hang out with me willingly."

Ino's eyes hardened and she stared at the blond boy. "Look, I could have easily found something to do and not bothered to come here, but I decided to come and see you, willingly. I said I _was_ bored, not I _am_ bored."

Naruto looked back at her, his mask dropping slightly. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Ino twisted her fingers in her lap slightly. "Actually, would you train with me? I could use some pointers, if you're willing?"

"Of course I will," Naruto jumped up and held out a hand, pulling Ino to her feet as well. "This will be fun."

xxxxxxxx

Ino lay on her back, panting with exhaustion but happy. Naruto had put her through quite a workout. When she had trained with Shikamaru and Choji, both were too lazy to push through their restrictions so she never felt that she had done enough. At this point though, she could barely move but at the same time, felt better for it.

"That was great," Naruto stretched, a large grin on his face. "Thanks Ino."

"Anytime." Ino pulled herself up wearily and stared at him. She had barely touched him when she had attacked. He was too fast and she suspected that he hadn't even tapped into his strength when attacking her. "Could we do this again tomorrow?"

Naruto looked at her in questioning surprise. "Do you actually want to hang out with me again?" He sounded shocked and Ino had to laugh.

"Of course. This was fun and I think you really helped me." She stood up and walked over to where she had left her small bag, wincing slightly as she moved. "I know, let me treat you to lunch."

"Ramen?" came Naruto's questioning suggestion.

"Yes, Ramen."

Ino smiled as Naruto whooped with joy and they both left the training ground together, Ino completely forgetting that she looked like she had fallen out of a thorn bush backwards.

"Is this your favourite food?" she asked the smiling boy beside her curiously. "I see you eat it a lot."

"Oh yeah, you can't get better than Ramen," was the reply. "What is your favourite Ino?"

"Well, when it comes to food, I actually like anything but I adore Okonomiyaki. My favourite sweets are most definitely chocolate covered toffee balls."

"Oh, me too. I love those."

They reached Ichiharu's and walked in, sitting themselves at the counter.

"Miso?"

"Yep."

Ino ordered two miso Ramen bowls, then leaned back and stretched, clicking her shoulder muscles. She knew she was going to ache later and decided to make a trip to the baths before she went home that evening. She stared around the Ramen shop, noting that no one was there that she knew, apart from Huuga Hinata, the shy girl who had been on the same team as Shino and Kiba. She was sitting alone at a table, her face buried in a book. Ino would have dismissed her presence, if she hadn't noticed the red blush on her face and the way her eyes moved from her book, to Naruto, then back to her book again.

"Well, well, well," Ino grinned and nudged the boy next to her. "Hey, Naruto, do you know Hinata?"

"Hinata?" The boy replied, staring at her, "Of course, why?"

Was Sakura the only one he spoke to familiarly, Ino wondered, then shrugged. "Well, she's sitting on the table behind us and she keeps staring at you and blushing."

"Again?" Naruto turned back to the front and stared at the man cooking in front of them. "She's a little strange, but nice."

"Strange?" Ino asked questioningly, "How so?"

"She's always stammering and blushing when I'm near. Also, she's too quiet."

"Don't you thing maybe that's because she likes you?"

"What are you getting at?" Naruto looked confused. "I like her too but I don't act strange in front of her."

Okay, Naruto was a little on the dense side. She should have realised that. "I mean, she likes you, as in likes you as boyfriend material. She has feelings for you," Ino explained patiently.

"No she doesn't," was the reply.

"She obviously does. Are you telling me you've never noticed?"

"There's nothing to notice."

Ino growled, then turned to the bowl of Ramen that was placed in front of her and picked up her chopsticks. "Believe what you want Naruto, that's up to you."

"I will," Naruto replied around a mouthful of noodles. "That's how I live."

Ino smiled at that, eating what was in front of her quickly.

"Well I suppose that is a good way to see things, but also, you miss what is right in front of you if you don't look around first."

"Are you trying to get theoretic on me Ino? If you are, then cut it out. I get enough of that from Kakashi sensei."

"Do you even know what theoretic means?" Ino stared at the boy next to her suspiciously. It didn't sound like anything she would have expected the boy to know, let alone use in a sentence.

"Of course I know what it means. I can read you know." Naruto put his chopsticks down next to his empty bowl. "I decided to learn a new word each day to expand my mind."

"So, that is today's word?" Ino smiled impishly.

"No, its yesterdays," Naruto smiled back. "Today's is camaraderie, which I think is quite ironic."

Ino began to laugh, leaning back slightly on her stool. "Yeah, you're right. I think it is." Her laugh faded to slight giggling and she also put her chopsticks down and then held out her hand in front of Naruto. "I'd say we are friends and I'd be happy to be regarded as yours."

Naruto took it and shook it heartily. "Most definitely."

Ino slid off her stool after Naruto released her hand and took some money out of her bag. "What time do you want to meet tomorrow?"

"It will be after missions, so I would say at about three?"

"That's fine." Ino placed the money on the counter and smiled. "I've got to go now. I'll see you tomorrow Naruto-kun."

"Okay Ino…chan," was the hesitant answer.

Ino smiled even wider, then left the shop, waving behind her and then walked towards the bathhouse. Today she had learnt something new, got in good training and made a new friend and training partner. All in all, a very good day!

Now please don't be too critical with this story. This is my first Naruto attempt and I don't want to muck up the story too much. I have only seen up to Sasuke leaving the village so I'm not sure what exactly happened.

I do have plans for this story but if wanted, I'll leave it as a one shot. At first glance it looks like an Ino/Naruto paring, but if a chaptered story, would become a Sasuke/Naruto, 'cause they are most definitely right!

Well, tell me what you think and thanks for reading

Rie

xx


	2. A Training Lesson?

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An Interwoven Web Of Deceit

It took two weeks, but here is chapter 2:

2 - A Training Lesson?

There were certain times, like at that moment, that Sakura hated been on a team which consisted of three guys and herself. Especially when it was proven that she was the weakest member and the others continued to pull ahead.

Just watching them now,while sitting on a large rock by the trees at the edge of the training ground brought a sigh to her lips, as she brushed her fingers through her pink strands of hair. Naruto and Sasuke were displaying what could only be described as a deadly dance, involving killing instruments, each focused on the other intently. Kakashi stood off to one side, his nose in his book. At one time, she had wondered how many times he had actually read through that book, or where there lots of different issues! Now though, she just dismissed it as one of his quirks but an irritating one.

She shifted slightly with a wince as she realised she had been sitting on a small stone that only now made its presence known. As she removed it discreetly and threw it to the side, Kakashi put down his book.

"Okay guys, that's enough for today." He sounded slightly bored, she noted. Even his book didn't seem to be holding his interest very well. It seemed that the lack of missions was getting to him, just like it was getting to all of them. For some reason, Sasuke had seemed distracted by something, causing Naruto to wave a hand in his face to bring back his focus every now and then. Even Naruto was slightly subdued, not greeting her on the bridge with his usual yell, but more a subtle 'hi Sakura.'

Both boys stopped what they were doing and slid their weapons away into their holsters. This had just been physical training and no special moves had been used. Sakura noticed that while Sasuke's breathing was slightly harder than normal, Naruto's breathing was the same as always. Was his stamina that good?

She stood up and brushed herself down and then followed her team-mates back through the woods and back to the bridge. This was done in silence, no one feeling like conversing with the other. Sakura did find this slightly unnerving. She was missing the bickering and glares.

"I want you back here in three days time at seven," Kakashi said, putting his book back into his coat as they all reached the small bridge. "You have a few days off. Dismissed."

With a puff of smoke, he was gone. Sakura shook her head in slight annoyance and turned to Sasuke and as usual, tried her luck.

"Sasuke-kun, do you want to ….."

"No."

The reply stung, like it always did, but Sakura was not one who gave up easily and besides, Naruto always cheered her up by asking her out instead!

……..

He was going to, now…

………

Just wait……

"Hey, Sakura?"

Sakura winced slightly. This was the second time he had said her name without familiarity, but she dismissed it, waiting for the question.

"Yes? What is it?"

"What time is it?"

"No, I don't….. What?" Sakura trailed off.

"What time is it?"

"It's a little before three," came Sasuke's voice from the railing, answering before she could. Naruto smiled and nodded.

"Thanks."

"Why do you want to know?" Sakura asked curiously. Naruto usually hurried away from the bridge to the ramen stand, after Kakashi had dismissed them and she had rejected him, but this was a break from the norm. Naruto was leaning against the wooden support, staring up at the sky.

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Who?" Even Sasuke seemed to be interested. He still hadn't left the bridge yet, Sakura noted.

"NARUTO-KUUUUN!"

Sakura cringed. She knew that yell. What she didn't know was why Ino was calling out for Naruto, and so familiarly. She turned to the blonde haired boy beside her to ask why Ino wanted him, when said boy moved from his relaxed position on the bridge support and headed in the direction of Ino.

"Ino-chan. I'm coming."

Naruto sprinted off the bridge and over to the waiting girl. As Sakura watched, Ino held something out to Naruto and it was taken by him and placed into his pocket. They then headed back towards the training grounds, laughing at something.

Sakura couldn't move, too shocked to do anything. What was Ino doing? She wasn't the kind of girl who just started hanging out with random guys, especially someone like Naruto. And what about her interest in Sasuke? And since when had Naruto been so familiar with Ino?

"H…. Hey, wait a minute. Naruto."

Nothing but the sound of birds answered her. In frustration, she turned back to Sasuke, only to find him missing.

"Grrrr," she stomped her foot in frustration. What was going on?

(xxxxxxxx)

Sasuke didn't like being curious, and he especially didn't like being curious about the blonde Dobe, walking with one of the most annoying girls in Konoha. If asked, he wouldn't have been able to explain why he had decided to follow Naruto and Ino. In fact, he probably would have ignored the question.

He made sure he kept his Chakra low enough so that it wasn't detected and crept through the trees as close as he dared.

"What's the point in dieting. You're not even slightly fat!"

"Of course I'm not. The whole point is to keep the weight off. Boys hate girls who are not slim."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"But Ino-chan, boys don't like skinny girls, didn't you know that?"

Staring through the leaves, Sasuke could see a slight blush adorn Naruto's face, making his eyes stand out more than they already did.

"You don't?" Ino sounded questioning. "Don't you like girls who can dress up prettily for you. Surely you don't want a fat girl for a girlfriend?"

"Of course not, but I don't want to date a rake either. A girl needs a little bit of meat on them."

"I don't know…"

"I mean, you wouldn't want to date a skinny guy, would you? Surely you would want something you could hang on to."

Sasuke nearly fell out of the tree he was in, trying to hold in a choking laugh. Something you could hang on to? What was he saying? Naruto had actually turned bright red at this point and Ino was laughing loudly.

"I guess I do agree there," she giggled, but I cant believe you said it so bluntly."

"Fine, next time I'll say it obfuscated."

Ino laughed even harder and had to rest her hand on the side of the tree.

"Obfuscated?" Sasuke whispered in confusion.

"Oh, oh, stop. I cant take any more." Ino was breathing harshly that it sounded to Sasuke that she was going to hyperventilate. As he watched, Naruto took out a bottle from his pack and offered it to the gasping girl.

"Thanks," was the reply, before Ino chugged back some of the contents. "It wouldn't be good if I'm exhausted before we start."

"Maybe if you stopped laughing at me, you wouldn't be nearly dying." The blush had left Naruto's face and he was pouting slightly. Ino stood up and placed a hand on his arm. For some reason, that movement made Sasuke grip the tree branch tighter.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun. It's just that when I start, I find it hard to stop." She smiled and released his arm. "Shall we go?"

Ino and Naruto continued walking towards the training grounds which had only been recently left and Ino surveyed the mess.

"Doesn't your sensei ever make you clean up before you leave? Sheesh."

"Didn't you know, Kakashi sensei is lazy like that."

"Ah well, never mind. Where shall we start?"

Sasuke watched for a few minutes, as Ino began punching and kicking one of the stumps with Naruto supervising, then he sighed and moved away. Was that it? A training lesson? He had been curious about a training lesson? He felt slightly stupid for even bothering to follow the Dobe, but still, he couldn't stop thinking about Naruto chattering away to Ino like…. What? Girlfriend and boyfriend?

"Idiot Uchiha! He grumbled to himself, "What does it matter anyway?" It didn't matter. The Dobe could hang out with whoever he liked, it was none of business.

So why did the fact that Naruto was hanging around with Ino bother him so much? And Ino's hand on Naruto's arm. Why did the sight of it make him angry?

(xxxx)

Well, it was going to be longer, but the next chapter will move things along a bit.

Thank you to all those who reviewed this story. I am most grateful for your views and thoughts.

Just for a note:

1.) I'm sorry to all, but I don't like Sakura. I find her annoying and useless and seems so single minded. I originally liked her and thought she'd continue to be amusing, but no. I don't want to offend anyone who likes her, I just don't.

2.) Even though I don't like Sakura, I am going to be nice to her in this. I will give her personality and wont push her to the back, I promise.

3.) The dieting conversation stemmed from the episode that Ino, Choji and Shikamaru were all talking about Choji's weight. 117 I think.

4.) Sasuke will begin to show possession!

Okay, I'll try to update soon. I promise. Please review and tell me what you think…

Rie

xx


	3. Fragile Frendships

Alrighty. Let us move on:

An Interwoven Web Of Deceit

3 - Fragile Friendships

"Alright. Do you want to tell me what that was all about?"

Ino looked up from her flower arranging to see a girl standing and leaning on the open doorframe of her mothers shop, her face as pink as her hair. She smiled slightly, them went back to tying her ribbon around the stems in front of her.

"What?"

"Yesterday. You and Naruto hanging out. Since when have you been friends?"

"Oh that."

"Yes that. Well, since when?"

Ino looked up at Sakura and plastered a thoughtful look on her face, inwardly smirking to herself. Riling up the other girl always amused her and this moment was no exception.

"To be quite frank Sakura, that is really none of your business."

"Of course it's my business Ino, he's my team-mate."

"I understand his working life is your business Sakura but his personal life has nothing to do with you."

"But….But…"

"But nothing," Ino rolled her eyes quite visibly to the pink haired girl and placed the flowers she was holding and tying together down onto the counter but keeping her hand over them. "Why are you concerned exactly Sakura? Is it because he is showing you less affection that usual, or that he's found someone more interested in him than you are?"

Sakura left the doorway and moved over to the counter where Ino was resting her chin in her palm.

"You're not interested in him Ino," was the reply to that. "You are just using him for your own ends. I know you too well Ino and I know what you are like."

Ino's eyebrows raised. "Oh? And what am I using him for exactly?"

"You're trying to get closer to Sasuke through him, or using him to get yourself stronger."

Along with the raised eyebrows, Ino's eyes widened slightly. "You what?"

"Oh come on Ino, everyone knows that you don't do anything for anyone unless you got something in return," Sakura smirked. "You've always been like that. You're pleasant agreeing nature is a fake mask you wear to get your own way"

"Everyone sees me like that?" Ino stared at her friend. "Really?"

"Of course they do, along with loud mouthed and annoying. The same as Naruto in that respect, although opinions on you aren't as bad as him."

"You see me like that to?" Ino closed her eyes and her hand clenched around the stems of the flowers.

"Of course, because you are like that. You can be really stubborn and say a lot of things without caring about the others feelings and…" Sakura stopped her tirade with a splutter as she suddenly got a mouthful of flowers. Ino had chosen that moment to pick up the newly arranged flowers and whack them across Sakura's face, spraying petals everywhere.

"Shut up," Ino's fingers tightened around the stems of the now destroyed flowers and glared at the pink haired girl standing in front of her, " and get out!"

"Ino…" Sakura began, a hand going to the red marks on her face that the flowers had made.

"I said get out," Ino threw the stems at Sakura, a couple of them hitting her forehead and bouncing to the floor. She was angry. She didn't remember the last time she had felt so angry. "Some friend you are. I understand that I can be a bit loud and a bit selfish, but you are taking it a bit too far. And what is going on between me and Naruto, it is most definitely none of your business so I'm telling you now to keep your nose out."

Sakura had backed away and was now nearly back in the doorway to the flower shop. "Now Ino, be reasonable. Everything I've said is a fact, including the way you've always held me back from getting Sasuke. If you don't call that selfish, what do you call it?"

"Selfish? SELFISH?" Ino growled. "Who helped you gain your confidence with people? Who introduced you to all of her friends? Who pointed out the one guy that she liked? And after all that, who decided that they also liked said guy and decided that we were rivals? Well?"

"I… Er…"

"Personally, I think THAT is being selfish, but maybe I'm wrong. I seem to be wrong about everything else, including the fact that I'm not allowed to choose my own friends without being scrutinised."

Sakura was now in the doorway, leaning her hand against the frame again. Before she left, Ino had to get another dig in, or two.

"Oh, yeah, I don't like Sasuke anymore and I wonder why I ever did. Naruto's worth much more than him. Even saying such, at this moment I think Sasuke's worth much more than you." Ino stepped around the counter and walked towards the pink haired girl who now had tears rolling down her cheeks. "He doesn't like you the way you want him to and he never will. For crying out loud girl, get over it!"

At this point, Ino had reached the doorway and she slammed the door in Sakura's face.

(XXXX)

The first thing that Naruto found when reaching Ino's family run flower shop was the closed sign over the door. This was unusual for two reasons. Firstly, at eleven o'clock in the morning, it was peak time to be open. Secondly, Ino had told him that it would be open.

"What?" The question to no one was spoken while the blonde haired boy pressed his two forefingers to his head for the fifth time that day. Naruto had been plagued by headaches for a couple of weeks now and couldn't seem to shake them.

Peering through the concave window in the door, he made out the distorted shapes of different flowers dotted around the room and he saw Ino leaning over the counter, her head in her arms. Naruto removed his fingers from his forehead, gripped the door handle and pushed down, making the door open. Said door opened quietly and Naruto headed into the shop, closing the door quietly. Ino never looked up from her position over the counter. In fact, she never moved. Her long hair, tied back in a ponytail fell over one of her arms.

"Ino-chan?" Naruto move until he was next to the blonde haired girl and gently touched her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He expected a numerous amount of responses from Ino. A punch, slap or kick or even a bit of verbal abuse for his disturbing her. What he didn't expect was for Ino to lift her head, stand up, turn to him and then fling herself into his arms, her face pressed against his neck and her arms around his shoulders.

"Ino!" Naruto held his arms away from Ino's body, unsure what to do with them. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun," Ino's voice whispered against his neck, making him shiver slightly. "I just need to calm down a little bit. Do you mind just holding me for a few moments?"

"Sure Ino-chan, if that's what you want."

They stood that way for a few minutes, not talking, not moving. Just holding each other in a gentle hug, until Ino finally pulled away.

"I'm sorry about that Naruto-kun, and thank you." Ino smiled at him but Naruto noticed her eyes were ever so slightly red.

"That's okay, but do you want to tell me what that was about?"

"Oh," Ino waved a hand in front of her face and sighed, "it's nothing really, I just had another fight with Sakura. We're always fighting and making up. It's a constant cycle that never gets old."

"Oh right. So, were you upset or angry just then?" Naruto questioned.

"I'm not sure, a bit of both I think," Ino leaned against the counter, her arms folded under her chest. "Naruto, could I ask you something?"

"Of course."

Ino was silent for a few seconds, then spoke hesitantly.

"Do you think I am selfish, annoying and a loudmouth?"

"Ino-chan…"

"I mean," Ino moved away from the counter and began pacing in front of the confused boy. "I have been told that I use people for my own aims and I don't care about anyone but myself. That everything I do has a hidden agenda to it." She stopped pacing and stared at Naruto. "What do you think?"

"Well, I haven't known you properly for very long to make a comprehensive judgement of your character," Naruto began, drawing out a small smile from Ino, "but from what I have learnt these past few days is that you are fun to be around, you treat me like an equal and you don't make snide comments about me, just loud enough for me to hear. All in all, I like you."

Ino's smile widened and she grasped one of Naruto's hands in her own. "Thanks Naruto-kun, and just so you know, I am not using you, I wont use you and never had any intention to."

"Thank you Ino-chan." Naruto smiled back at her, then suddenly winced as a sharp pain shot behind his eyes again. "Dam-it."

"Are you okay?" Ino released his hand and stepped back slightly. Naruto then pressed two fingers to the point on his forehead, right between his eyes.

"I'm okay, it's just a headache." Naruto kept the pressure on his head constant, his eyes closed. "I'm used to it and it will fade soon."

"How often does this happen?" he heard Ino's voice ask, sounding slightly worried. "If you're used to it, it must mean that it happens quite regularly."

"I suppose," was Naruto's unhelpful reply.

"Haven't you been to see anyone about this? Toa doctor or somebody?"

"Yeah right," Naruto opened his eyes and stared at Ino. "Who exactly would help me out? If you haven't noticed Ino, I'm not exactly liked around here."

"What about the Hokage? You've always seemed pretty close to her," Ino suggested with a shrug, "and she's a medical Nin."

"It's okay Ino-chan, besides, I don't want to bother her with a headache. Anyway, it's probably just stress related, I'll be okay. Besides, it's faded now."

"If you're sure," Ino looked dubious but Naruto smiled and shook his head.

"I'm sure, now lets forget it. We both need a good few hours of training to forget our problems."

Naruto noticed that Ino still didn't look convinced, but she nodded and then headed into the back of the shop, probably to inform her parents that she wad going out. While he waited for her to get back, he spent a few moments just staring around the shop and noticed a trail of petals and stems on the floor leading to the front door.

"Okay, lets go," Ino bounced back into the counter area.

"Ino-chan, what happened here?" Naruto pointed down at the mess at his feet. Ino looked where he pointed and frowned slightly.

"That was part of my fight with Sakura," was the answer Ino gave him before grabbing his arm and tugging him. "Come on, lets go Naruto-kun."

Naruto let himself be tugged out of the door, forgetting about the strange destruction of flowers that Ino had left.

xxxxxxxx

So how was that? I know that nothing much happened but I had to add a few things in before I move ahead. Next chapter will be up shortly, due to free time because of Christmas break. Quick question from me. Does anyone know who out of the kids know about the Kyubi? I mean, when they get Sasuke back? If not, I'll just write it as no one knows yet. Anyway, :

I want to thank Renata, akumariver, dudewheresmyanime, LadySamurai87, clowangel, Ezj, evvy, ochiba, Dreamers, lillilly, Base, Ghostninja85, Sparrow9, Yami Jay, ohm lord, koorinohitomi, hino, ranoshiai, someone, bellashade, Mimiruchan, LadyFrisselle, Iceheart19, ILLK, K.Likos. Monmon, trent, insanechildfanfic, cutiedraco, Thermopyle, Licht Sieger, key-09, animelvr4evr, hellwolfhanyou, Amaterasu, hamster box, Stormraven, Third Degree Run, Vainamoinen, Pale Rider, B.U.G.I.M.S (what does that stand for?), Licht Sieger and my dear cous Ani. I couldn't believe I got so many positive reviews and they are what persuaded me to continue. If I have missed out your name and you have reviewed, tell me and I'll apologise profusely.

As to the questions:

Ino is being real, no false front. The title is something else. (Smiles secretly)

xx

Sasuke has a lot of work cut out for him to get Naruto, I'll make sure of that.

xx

The word 'obfuscated' was used this way on purpose, hence Ino's fit of laughter. Just 'cause Naruto learns new words, doesn't mean that he knows how to use them in constructive sentences. Sorry for not explaining that in the first place.

xx

Obfuscate means to seal, hide or withhold.

xx

Camaraderie is another way of saying friendship

Xx

I hope that helps. As always, please read and review.

Rie

xx


	4. Headaches And Techniques

Okay, chapter four. By the way, I keep forgetting the disclaimer.

Do you really think I own Naruto? I'm flattered, really, but it has nothing to do with me. I'm just another anime obsessed fan! This counts for every chapter I write.

Please read, review and enjoy, okay:

An Interwoven Web Of Deceit

Chapter 4 - Headaches And Techniques

"I don't know what you are trying to do, but you can stop it right now!"

"Excuse me?"

Sasuke glared at the blond haired girl sitting under the tree he was currently perched in and clenched his fingers tightly around a branch. "Naruto," he hissed out. "What do you think you'll gain, hanging around with him like this?"

"Gain?" Ino bit into a sandwich, her eyes never leaving the book she was engrossed in. "Am I supposed to gain something?"

"Don't mess with me Ino, I know you're up to something."

"Let me guess," Ino put her sandwich down and snapped her book closed. She then scowled at the black haired boy who she could only just see, "you have been speaking to Sakura and you have both agreed that I am using Naruto-kun for my own aims." Her scowl deepened. "Let me tell you now, that I only want his friendship and companionship. I regret not seeing him before and I am trying to make up for it."

"I swear Yamanaga, if you hurt him…." Sasuke trailed off, not knowing how to continue that train of thought. What would he do exactly? For some reason, his mouth had run away with him.

"What do you care?" Ino went back to her book and picked up her sandwich again. "You are just team-mates and nothing more. You only think about yourself Sasuke-_kun." _The sarcasm was apparent in her voice and Sasuke had no answer to that. "I wont hurt him. I have no reason to hurt him. At this point in time, I feel that Naruto-kun is the only one in this village that is worth my time, so if you don't mind, I was reading."

XXXX

"Well?"

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I can't find any problems. There is nothing wrong with you."

Tsunade stared at the blond haired boy, seated in a chair on the other side of her desk. His face looked thoughtful and his eyes stared through her, as if he was thinking hard."

"So, could it be stress? Or just a tension headache?" he asked her when he had finally focused on his surroundings again. Tsunade sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"Probably. It might be that you need to be occupied by something. Unfortunately, no missions have come up as yet, but if you want, I'll give one to your team first as soon as I get one."

Naruto nodded and got up from his chair and moved towards the door.

"Oh, and Naruto."

"Yes?"

"The Chunnin exams are coming up again soon, so you might want to get in a bit of training, also, study a bit." She smiled, remembering what she had been told of the last exams. "When they happen, try and answer at least one of the questions."

Naruto gave her an impish smile. "If it's the same as the last one, it means that I don't have to."

"I'll make sure it's different, so you'll have to study," was her reply.

"Old hag!"

"Dumb brat!"

Naruto's smile widened and he left the room, whistling. Tsunade sighed and slumped back in her seat.

"How long has he been having these headaches Kakashi?" she asked the empty air, then quite suddenly, the silver haired Jounin appeared in the room.

"For about a month now." Kakashi leaned against the wall. "He thinks that no one has noticed."

"Do you think that it could be serious?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll keep on eye on him."

"Thank you."

Kakashi vanished again in a puff of smoke. Tsunade pressed her fingers together and pressed them to the underside of her chin. She was becoming slightly worried about the way Naruto was acting lately. For some reason, he seemed subdued, like he lacked his usual zest for life. His insults were not like they used to be and the mask he wore was now easier to spot. Something was definitely wrong with him but Tsunade could not find out what.

xxxxxx

"Hey Naruto, hurry up would you."

Naruto looked up to see Sakura waving at him from her seat on the grass, underneath a large tree. Lee, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba and Hinata were all sitting with her, a basket between them. A few days before, Sakura had decided that a picnic would be just the thing to curb all the teams boredom. It had been agreed by all, but Naruto soon found out that Sakura had neglected to invite Ino.

When asked, Ino had told Naruto that she had to work anyway and so it didn't really matter to her. Naruto had noticed she was lying but didn't say anything. He had already decided to spend a little while with the group, then go and find Ino.

"Sorry Sakura, Tsunade-baba wanted to see me," Naruto jogged over to them and dropped down on the grass next to Hinata. Said girl blushed at him and stammered out a greeting which Naruto replied to with a smile.

"Where's Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and picked up a sandwich from the ones that Shikamaru had placed in front of him. "Haven't seen him."

"I saw him earlier," Choji said around his sandwich, "in the centre of town"

"So know one knows if he is coming?"

"No, but 'Gods Gift' hates our company anyway," Kiba muttered, feeding his crusts to Akimaru. "Who cares if he shows up anyway!"

"I do."

"Well, you're the only one."

Shikamaru sighed. "Now look, stop the pointless argument. The conversation is boring."

"Exactly what I was thinking while listening."

There was a simultaneous spitting out of sandwich, made by Sakura, Kiba and Lee, Shikamaru rolled his eyes and Choji just kept on eating. Sasuke jumped down from the tree above them and stared at Naruto, who looked back questioningly.

"Dobe, can I have a word?"

"I'm not a Dobe and what about?" was Naruto's reply.

"A private word."

Naruto put his sandwich he was halfway through down and stood up.

"Okay, sure." He moved until he was out of earshot and turned to face the other Ninja. "What did you want?"

Sasuke didn't reply, but instead stared back at the others, a strange look on his face that Naruto could honestly not remember seeing before.

"Are you okay Sasuke? You seem a little tense for some reason." Naruto tried again, slightly concerned.

Sasuke turned his head and stared at him. Nothing more, just stared. It was a very unnerving feeling to hold the dark haired boys attention this way and Naruto was beginning to worry.

"Sasuke?"

"The Chunnin exams are coming up again." Sasuke finally answered. "I was just wondering if you needed a training partner."

Naruto blinked, then smirked. "What? Won't Kakashi sensei teach you anything this time? Anyway, I decided to help Ino-chan."

"Ino," the dark haired boy growled, "Ino again. Did you forget that I am your team-mate? We're not supposed to help other teams out and besides, she'll only drag your level down."

Naruto didn't understand where this was coming from. Sasuke never acted like this. It sounded like he was…. Nah, couldn't be.

"What's wrong with me helping out a friend exactly? It's not like I'll be showing her any trade secrets or anything like that."

"That's not the point," Sasuke fumed.

"Then what is the point?"

"The point is, you're not supposed to train with her, you're supposed to train with me!"

Now Naruto was completely shocked, so much that his jaw was nearly hanging down.

"Okay, " he muttered when he finally got his jaw under control. "Who are you and where is Sasuke? There is no way that Sasuke would act this way."

"Shows how much you know, Dobe."

"Don't call me Dobe, Bastard."

Naruto glared at Sasuke. Sasuke glared right back. The glaring competition continued until Kiba interrupted by setting Akimaru on Naruto's pants leg and the dog succeeded in biting through the cloth material into his skin.

"Ahhh, shit. You bastard Kiba." Naruto turned his attention to the scruffy, brown haired boy and pointed a shaky finger at him. "What have I done to you?"

"You're disturbing the peace again, what else. You're too loud Naruto."

"What the Hell's it got to do with you?" Naruto yelled. "If I want to be loud, I'll….." he trailed off, shaking his head slightly. The pain in his head had come back and he placed a hand on his forehead and winced.

"You'll what?" Kiba asked, confused that Naruto had broken off in mid sentence. Naruto shook his head again and stumbled away from Sasuke and Kiba and in the opposite direction of the rest of the group sitting on the grass.

"Hey Naruto, where are you going?" he heard Sakura call out. He ignored her and jumped into the nearest tree, flight away from everyone being the first thing on his mind at that moment.

xxxx

H reached Ino's family run flower shop in a matter of minutes and spotted the Blonde haired girl sitting on the doorstep, her chin supported in her hands.

"Naruto-kun," she stood up when she spotted him, a large smile on her face, which faded slightly when she saw Naruto's face. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," the pain in his head had faded slightly, but it still hurt. "Are you busy?"

"Not really. Hang on, I'll just tell my mum that I'm going out." Ino shot into her shop, then a few seconds later shot out again and tugged him by the arm all the way to the training grounds. The journey was done in silence and nothing was said until they were both seated on the ground beside the stumps that they used during practice.

"Is it your head again?" was Ino's first question.

"Yes. I took your advice and went to see Tsunade-baba, but she couldn't find out what it was. She said there was nothing wrong and it was probably stress." The headache had actually now faded to a slight throbbing.

"It can't be stress like you thought Naruto-kun. This isn't a stress headache."

"What do you think it is then," Naruto leaned back against the stump and closed his eyes. Hearing no answer, he opened his eyes to see Ino, kneeling directly in front of him, her finger and thumbs joined together to make a slightly wonky circle.

"Ino-chan, he began, not quite realising what she was about to do.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun. I'm going to see if I can help you find out the cause." Ino opened her eyes. "Mind And Body Exchange Skill."

The last thing Naruto saw before Ino's technique hit him, was Ino's determined eyes, and the figure of Sasuke, jumping out of a tree a few yards away, calling his name….

Well, I hope you aren't too disappointed with this chapter. I'm not too happy with it myself, but do tell me what you think.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and praised this. I can't believe that people like this one so much. Thank you, thank you! I would reply to each separately but I'll be here all night and I thought you'd rather I update instead.

Anyway, quick question. What is Ino's move in Japanese? Anyone know? I couldn't make out what she said.

Okay, next chapter. Ino in Naruto's head!!!!!!!

Nuff said!

Rie

xx


	5. The Kyuubi

Well, here you are. I finally got moving and updated. Here is chapter five. Please read and enjoy. Thank you so much for every one of your reviews. They always make me squeal in delight. (Hehe.) Anyway. Go….

An Interwoven web Of Deceit

The Kyuubi

The only things that Ino could sense. After hitting Naruto with her jitsu, were the sensation of falling and the sensation of pitch black.

It was like she had fallen down a very deep and very dark hole and could not even slightly see anything in the darkness. She didn't have the faintest idea on to what had happened to her. This had never happened before. Usually, she just closed her eyes after using the jittsu and when she opened them, she was in the others body.

Ino's eyes opened to see a dreary green light. She found herself lying on her side in a puddle of water in the middle of a strange corridor. She blinked a couple of times, then raised her head and stared up at a broken grate and some strange pipes, from which the water she was laying in was dripping from.

"Yuck," she shook her hands and then stood up, shaking drops of water out of her hair. It was only then that she noticed her surroundings.

She was in long corridor, which stretched out into darkness in both directions. For some reason, the area that she was standing in was light enough to see by, so she could see grey walls which spanned the edges of the corridor with strange turnings, each leading into darkness. It was incredibly quiet, apart from a faint tapping which sounded slightly like fingernails drumming randomly on a wood floor and it was coming from somewhere up the corridor in the darkness.

Ino was beginning to feel slightly creeped out. She didn't have a clue where she was, there was an ominous sound coming from up the corridor and she was all alone.

Suddenly, the strange tapping stopped and Ino heard a distinct whine come from up the corridor. It sounded like an animal of some sort.

"Hello," she called out, beginning to walk down the corridor towards the noise, one hand supporting herself against the wall as she walked and she took the first turning left.

The whine was heard again. It sounded like a small dog, Ino decided, curious. She continued walking towards a strange glowing doorway in front of her, which looked very much like a doorway of light.

When she reached it, all of the green tinted darkness melted away and her surroundings became drowned in white light. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared around her, it faded and Ino now found herself in a tall chamber and her hand was no longer touching a wall, but bars. Ice cold and huge metal bars, elaborately designed and with a strange paper seal on the centre of them. Muttering in pain from the cold, she jolted her hand away from the bars and stepped back, suddenly realising that there was no wall behind her any more.

Another whine was heard, this time from behind the bars and the strange tapping noise was heard again. Before Ino could call out again, she spotted a small bundle of orange fur walk slowly towards her from the other side of the bars. She immediately realised that it was a fox, not quite fully grown, but not a cub either.

"Hi there," Ino's fear vanished quite suddenly. She had been scared of this? "How did you get in there? Who put you in there?"

She crouched down in front of the bars and stared at the fox. The fox stared right back with a sorrowful expression which made Ino, for some reason, feel slightly guilty. The fox whined again and scratched at the bars.

"You want to get out?" Ino glanced up at the paper seal in the middle of the bars and scowled. "Well, I cant reached that scroll like this, but hand on. Let me see if I can find a box or something."

Looking around the chamber, she saw another entrance to a room a little further down. She headed over to it and discovered a small room with a crate and a large chest. The chest itself was a deep red, with strange markings down the side and another seal scroll over the lock. She also noted that it had a crack in the lid.

"I wonder what's in that," she mumbled to herself, reaching out and touching the side of the lid, but before she could touch the seal scroll, a whine from the fox was heard again.

"Alright, I'm coming." Ino walked over to the crate and started to push it out of the room. It was a wooden crate, but it was pretty light so Ino concluded that it must be empty. She pushed it down the hall until it was directly in front of the cage.

The fox yipped at her, making her smile. Even though she had no idea where she was, she couldn't leave a poor fox locked up like that. Who knew when the last time was that it had eaten?

"Bear with me. I'll have you out of here in a few moments." Ino stood on top of the crate and stretched upwards, her fingertips nearly brushing the paper scroll. "Nearly got it."

"INO, NO!"

The cry made her wobble slightly, her balance gone. Then she was knocked off her feet by the orange and gold blur of Naruto and landed on the floor under him.

"Naruto, what?"

"Did you touch it?"

"What?"

"DID YOU TOUCH IT? THE PAPER SCROLL?" Naruto had got off of her and was now shaking her shoulders, "WELL?"

"I, no. I couldn't reach it."

Naruto sighed and let her go, slumping to the floor next to her.

"Naruto, what's the problem? It's just a fox." Ino was completely confused. Why was Naruto freaked out over a small fox?

"Ino," Naruto looked up at her tiredly. "Take another look at that, 'just a fox' would you."

"Okay, but…" Ino trailed off when she looked up at the cage again. A bright red glow was coming from inside the cage and red mist was seeping through the bars. Staring harder, she noticed that the small fox had gone, and in its place was two blood red eyes and huge teeth. Ino did the only thing she could do in the circumstances."

"KKYYAAAAAAA!"

She dove at Naruto, wrapping her arms around his waist and hid her face in his jacket

"What? What is that thing?" She felt horribly shaken, but Naruto's warmth comforted her slightly. Also, his familiar scent surrounded her.

"That thing," Naruto's voice suddenly went cold, "Is the Kyuubi."

"The Kyuubi?" Ino pulled away from Naruto slightly and stared up at him. "What do you mean?"

Naruto sighed. "Do you remember the story about when the Kyuubi attacked the village and how the Yondaime stopped it by giving up his life?"

"Of course I do," Ino replied. "It's a famous story and we celebrate the day of its defeat every year don't we."

"It wasn't defeated, it was sealed."

"Sealed?" Ino was curious. "Really? In who, and why?" Ino noticed that Naruto was withdrawing from her, edging away from her seated form.

"It was too powerful to defeat. Too many had died, so the Yondaime sacrificed his life to seal it away into an infant who had been born that very day. "

"Who?" Ino whispered, although from the way Naruto was acting, she already knew the answer to her question. Naruto looked up at her, sadness in his eyes.

"Me."

xxxxxxxxx

Naruto closed his eyes after that statement. His biggest secret. The only thing he didn't want anyone to know about, he had just told his newest friend. He was scared of her reaction. Would she run from him? Get angry with him? Look at him in pure revulsion? He didn't know and at that point in time, he didn't want to know.

"Hey, brat." A deep, growling voice came from the cage behind him. "How long do you intent to ignore my presence?"

"As long as you're there," was Naruto's Insolent reply. "You have yet to say anything I want to hear."

"Well, how about, as soon as I'm free, your pretty little friend there will be the third person I eat!"

"Third?"

"After your most 'precious person. After Uchiha Sasuke."

"Shut up," Naruto hissed, raising to his feet and then turning to face the huge fox, trying his best to stare it in the eyes. "If you even consider touching them…."

"You'll do what, exactly?" The fox taunted. "You are weak boy, you always have been. No one will help you either. To that village, you are just a monster."

"Shut up."

"Everyone hates you!"

"I said, shut up."

"I'm surprised no one has tried to kill you yet!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Naruto turned sharply, to see a furious looking Ino standing, facing the cage. Her hands were clenched tightly and her shoulders were shaking.

"Ino-chan…"

"I will not stand here," Ino continued in a shaky, but angry voice, "and listen to this crap anymore. Naruto will have help, you bastard fox because I will always be there to help him. I don't hate him, I care about him and I'll help make sure that you never get free."

"Oh really?" Naruto heard a smug tone in the fox's voice, "even though it was you who nearly let me out?"

"You tricked me."

"I'm a demon fox!" Was the nonchalant reply. "It's what I do."

Naruto was sure he heard Ino grind her teeth in frustration. "Well, now that I know, don't expect it to happen again."

xx

The room began to fade into whiteness and the last thing Naruto herd was a 'what the' from Ino, before the barred cage disappeared and he found himself laying on the ground by the stumps of the training ground, his head resting on something soft.

"Hey Dobe, you awake?" He heard Sasuke's voice above him.

"Sasuke?"

"Yes, of course Sasuke. Can you move?"

Naruto realised that that the soft thing he had been laying in was Sasuke's lap. He yelped and sat up, holding his heat as his vision span.

"Owww. What the hell happened?"

"Ino used her Shintenshi no jutsu," Sasuke answered, putting slight pressure on his back to stop him from falling backwards. Naruto 's head was hurting him again. "It must have backfired because the both of you collapsed."

"Where is Ino-chan?"

Sasuke didn't answer, just pointed. Ino was sitting, slumped against the practice poles and as Naruto watched, her eyelids fluttered and then opened to reveal hazy dark blue eyes.

"Naruto-kun?" she whispered, as soon as she spotted him.

"Ino-chan was his reply, staring back at her. Now was the moment of truth. What would Ino do?

That question was answered when Ino crawled forwards and fell into Naruto's arms with a sigh.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Are you okay?"

Ino nodded in answer and buried her face into his jacket. "Was it all true?" was her next question.

"Yes."

"I'm so sorry Naruto-kun," Ino held him tighter, "and as to what I said, I meant every word."

"Really?"

"Really."

Naruto smiled. A true and warm smile and hugged Ino tightly to him, Sasuke's presence forgotten for the moment. "Thank you Ino-chan," he whispered against her hair. "Thank you so much."

xxxx

I do hope that this chapter didn't result in being totally sappy, but it came out this way. Feel free to criticize it, but please, no flames. Please tell me what you think though and I'm sorry it's not longer.

By the way, I've done it, so no one knows about the Kyuubi. I'm debating on whether or not to putting Gaara in this. It's complicated as it is and it's going to bet worse. (I love twisty, obsessed stories!)

Rie

xx


	6. The Forming And Breaking Of Relationship...

Hi all. I'm so sorry for the delay of this chapter. All that I can say for myself is that I've been ill with a light flu and a stomach virus. Nasty. Anyway, this chapter is slightly longer that the others, due to me being apologetic.

By the way, this story might end up being rather long, due to the fact that I want to flesh out the characters a bit. The Sasuke/Naruto relationship is coming, but I want it to be realistic in the story plot.

For those who want this story to be just an Ino/Naruto, I'm sorry, but If you want, I can either write an alternate timeline stemming from one scene in this story or I can write a new fic for them. I don't mind doing either.

Thank you all who have reviewed, I love you all and hope you stick with me as I write this. You might hate this chapter but I assure you, it is necessary. Anyway, please read and enjoy:

****

An Interwoven Web Of Deceit

****

The Forming And Breaking Of Relationships

Sasuke was in a rage!

On the inside, he knew that he was expressing himself a little bit too violently, but he made no move to stop himself. At the moment he was in the process of breaking a kitchen chair against the wall. The table itself had already been thoroughly destroyed by a drop kick and a few punches for good measure. None of his jitsu's had been used, this was all physical.

Ino.

Sasuke had wanted to tear her limb from limb! Her relationship with Naruto was getting stronger and stronger, making Sasuke feel like he was being pushed into the background and ignored. He knew he shouldn't let it bother him so much but for some unknown reason, the sight of Ino and Naruto together made him feel angry and strangely possessive. A feeling that Ino was unworthy of Naruto's attention. That in itself was strange. Naruto had lots of friends and not once had he felt his friendship threatened by any of them. Neiji although, had come close.

Why was it that Ino was the one that felt threatening?

Sasuke sighed and dropped the remaining parts of the chair (which was two of the legs) onto the floor, then leant against the wall, his rage dissipating. He felt so confused and his emotions were so jumbled. He had to figure out what was wrong with him.

"Are you finished?"

Sasuke looked up and into worried green eyes. Sakura. She had met up with him after he had left Ino and Naruto in the training grounds, asking him why both himself and Naruto had run off that afternoon. She had stuck by him ever since, asking if he was okay. After he had displayed his temper in front of her, he was sure that she was now regretting her decision.

He glared at her and she just stared back questioningly.

"I hope for your sake that you're finished or you will have no furniture left."

"What's it to you?" Sasuke growled at her.

"Look, loosing your temper like this doesn't help in the long run."

Sakura leaned against the wall next to him and folded her arms against her chest. "I'm just trying to help Sasuke-kun."

"Well it's not required."

Sakura's face fell as he watched. If he thought it worth his time, he would have explained to her that he was not interested in her in any way but a friend and never would be. He had actually thought that she might have figured it out for herself by now, but no, she still would not leave him alone and constantly tried to hang off of him.

Deciding that his strange anger was not worth the destruction of any more of his furniture, he seated himself on a stool and sighed.

"M…Maybe I should leave?" Sakura said questioningly, her voice shaking slightly. Sasuke scowled.

"Yes, maybe you should."

Sasuke closed his eyes when he heard the pink haired girl move across the kitchen and sighed when the door closed. He didn't want to think about Naruto anymore, besides, he had a kitchen to clean up.

xxxxxxxx

"Look, Ino-chan. You honestly don't have to do this."

Naruto stood in the doorway to his home, staring around with an exasperated look on his face. His living room, which usually consisted of rolls of parchment lying here, there and everywhere, dust on shelves and small bits of rubbish on the floor, was now devoid of its mess. Wooden surfaces shined, the floor was swept and his parchment collection was now neatly stacked in a rack.

Ino was sitting on his small beaten sofa which had changed from being a dirty green colour to a forest green colour and the frayed edges had been patched up. Ino was wearing red for some reason and it clashed terribly with the green of the sofa.

"It was no problem," Ino poured him a cup of tea from a blue teapot. Naruto blinked stupidly, staring at the table top. He had a teapot? Actually, since when did he have any tea making utensils at all?

"They're mine," Ino commented on his blank look. "I noticed you didn't have anything to make tea with and I always want one after cleaning so I went and picked up my set ."

"You didn't have to clean up," Naruto said again, walking over his now uncluttered floor and sitting himself down on the sofa next to Ino. "There's no benefit to you and I'll probably only mess it up again."

"You do and I'll start breaking things over your head," Ino smirked, then took a sip of tea. "Speaking of your head, how is it today? Any pain?"

"Not really. It's more like an ache that comes and goes."

"An ache?" Ino swept her hair over her shoulder. "Hang on. I know."

Ino placed her cup onto the table and then clambered fully onto the couch and positioned herself so that she was on her knees behind Naruto.

"What are you doing?"

"Just giving you a head massage." Ino undid the knot that held Naruto's headband on and removed it away from his hair. "Here, hold this and relax."

Naruto shivered slightly when he felt Ino's fingers slowly slide through his hair and lightly touch his head. Then he relaxed and closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of his scalp being massaged and he eventually fell asleep against the still working Ino.

xxxx

Naruto's hair was baby soft and smelt slightly of lime, fresh and not too sweet. It was all Ino could do to stop herself from burying her face into it and inhaling sharply. Giving Naruto a head massage had only come to her at that moment and it seemed like a good idea. There where certain points on the head that, when pressure was put onto them, could ease a headache. It was worth a shot.

What she wasn't expecting was for Naruto to fall asleep while she was attempting to help him, not that she was annoyed by this. It felt nice to know that the blonde boy felt enough at ease with her to just fall asleep while in her company. Gently, as not to disturb him, she moved herself out from behind him and lay him down gently on the sofa, then she got up and went to his bedroom to get a cover from his bed for him.

She hadn't been in his room yet. She didn't want to attempt cleaning up in that room, fearing what she would find. Boys were natural hoarders and also, teenage boys had things that girls didn't want to know about. She nearly had a heart attack after finding one such item in Choji's room. She never told the boy about what she had found, but had never been able to look Choji directly in the eye again after that!

As she looked around, she noted that Naruto's room was pretty neat, even though he didn't have that much stuff. His bed was against the wall with a strange looking nightcap sitting on the pillow, and a wall scroll behind the headboard with the symbol of the leaf on it. On the right of the bed next to the window which had a small ninja doll perched on the sill, was a large potted plant and to the left was a cupboard with an alarm clock on it and a calendar hanging on the wall above it. A few more scrolls lay here and there and a couple of picture frames were situated on the cupboard. Pausing for a moment, Ino turned to look at them.

One was a picture of Iruka, their old sensei. Ino had noticed that he seemed quite attached to Naruto, almost like an older brother. Next to that picture, on the other side of Naruto's alarm clock was a group shot of team seven. Kakashi was standing in front of a tree and Sakura was directly in front of him, her chin resting on both of her hands. Sasuke and Naruto stood on either side of her with Kakashi's hands on their heads. All had a grin on their faces, although Sasuke's was more of a smirk.

On the draws next to the door, there was another picture. This one was of both Sasuke and Naruto, their clothes looking quite shabby and dirty, both with triumphant grins on their faces. What made Ino stare at it was the fact that both Naruto and Sasuke had their arms around each others shoulders and that the smile on Sasuke's face looked completely genuine. It must have been taken quite a while ago, some time before the original Chunnin exams for they both looked a lot younger than they did now.

Shaking her head slightly, Ino broke out of her distraction and pulled one of the covers off the bed and then headed back into the main room. Naruto had turned slightly in his sleep and was laying on his back.

Ino stared down at him and realised that she was holding her breath. When asleep, Naruto looked angelic and extremely beautiful. Apart from the lines on his face, the rest of his skin was completely flawless. His eyelashes were dark against his skin and his mouth was curved upwards slightly.

"Why oh why did I never notice this boy before?" Ino breathed out quietly, reaching out a hand and pushing a lock of hair from his eye. "I must have been mad, or obsessed." This was mumbled darkly, thoughts of Sasuke entering her mind.

After covering the boy on the couch with his cover, she quietly left the apartment, heading for home.

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It was pretty dark when she arrived home. She noted that the house was quiet when she opened her front door, meaning that her father was out, probably drinking as usual. She could hear banging in the kitchen and concluded that her mother was attempting to cook again.

"I'm home," she called out, closing the door behind her.

"Ino. Where have you been all day?" her mother called from the kitchen. "You've been gone since this morning."

"I've just been out with friends, training." Ino slipped off her shoes and stepped into the hall, shivering slightly in the cold air. Her mother delighted in leaving windows open.

"When you say friends, who do you mean exactly?" her mother stepped out of the kitchen to face her, wiping her hands on a towel.

"Just my friends. My usual friends." Ino stared down at the floor. Not meeting her mothers eyes.

"You've been hanging out with that Uzumaki boy again, haven't you?" her mothers voice became cold. "I've told you countless times that I don't want you to have anything to do with him."

"Maybe so," Ino's voice became equally as cold, "but I don't see why I should listen when no one seems to want to give me a proper reason why."

"I don't need to explain myself to you. I'm your mother and as long as you live here, you'll do as you're told."

Ino clenched her fists tightly and bit her lip until she tasted blood. Her mothers mind was set and her father would just agree with her. It was time to choose. Naruto or her family.

"Well maybe I wont live here anymore," she said quietly.

"What did you say?"

"I said that I'm leaving." Ino raised her voice and stared defiantly at her mother. "I'm not staying in a house where everyone is unjustifiably biased against Naruto-kun. What has he ever done to you exactly?"

"Ino, please," her mother had lost the harshness of her voice and had now resorted to pleading, "you don't know what he is. What he could do.."

"I know exactly what he is mother. A human being who has been treated abysmally by everyone his entire life for something he had no choice in. Is it because of the Kyuubi? Is that why you hate him?"

"Who told you?" The towel in her mothers hands was being twisted between shaking fingers as the quiet question was asked. Her mother looked scared.

"I found out myself using our technique," Ino replied in a softer tone. "I got into his head."

"That was a very stupid thing to do."

"I know that, but I had to help him. I care about him, which is why I cant stay here anymore." Ino began to cry and mentally slapped herself for doing so. "I think I'm in love with him!"

Ino opened her eyes wide. Did she just say that?

Obviously she had because her mothers face had become pure white and was staring at her in horror. Ino decided that she had better move before her mother blew her top, so she grabbed her shoes and ran back out of her house into the dark night.

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Naruto opened his front door to see a distraught girl with loose and tangled long blonde hair and tears falling from her now reddish eyes.

"Ino-chan. What's wrong?" He opened his door wider and Ino stepped into the apartment and made a bee line to the couch. Naruto then closed the door and made his way over to where she was seated.

"Im sorry to impose on you so late Naruto-kun but I just had a large scale argument with my mother and I cant go home."

"That's okay Ino-chan," Naruto grasped one of her hands and squeezed her fingers gently. "It's not like I was actually doing anything. So, what were you and your mother arguing about?"

"Well," Ino stared down at her lap, "it was about you actually."

"Oh," Naruto released Ino's hand and moved away from her slightly. He totally understood and he wasn't surprised.

"No." Ino moved over the sofa and flung her arms around his neck, burying her face in his neck. "Please don't back away from me Naruto-kun."

Naruto stared down at the girl in his lap in shock.

"Ino-chan.." he began.

"No, you listen to me Naruto-kun." Ino didn't release the grip that she had on him and didn't raise her face either, but spoke into his neck. "I told my mother that I cared about you and if she didn't like that, I was leaving. I left home Naruto-kun, for you, because I…."

Naruto felt dampness on his neck and Ino tensed in his arms in her pause.

"You what, Ino-chan?" He asked quietly, holding her gently around the waist. Ino moved her head slightly so that she was a breath away, staring into his eyes.

"I love you, Naruto-kun."

With that, she leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his.

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Okay, there it is. Please review and tell me what you think

Rie

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	7. Decisions Made And Problems Discovered

Ok, here we are with the next chapter. I was struggling slightly go get it to flow right and I still think there are problems. If you see any, tell me so I can rectify them.

Question. Didn't ANYONE notice the suspicious item I placed in one of my chapters? No one has questioned it yet! I just wondered.

Anyway, please read and enjoy. Thank you for all of your reviews and as I've said before, I can always write a branch off from this story, (think sliding doors style) and make that Ino/Naru but this story in the end will be Sasu/Naru. The plot is already done and I have a few competitive scenes for Ino and Sasuke already planned. There will be a bit of Ino/Naruto in this anyway. I wont break them up nastily. I'm not saying any more or I will give away too much.

Right, onwards:

****

An Interwoven Web Of Deceit

Decisions Made And Problems Discovered

When it had been announced, practically the entire village went back to normalcy as if nothing had happened. Admittedly, it wasn't actually broadcast but everyone seemed to know about it, probably because of a little display that quite a lot of people had seen, outside one of the many bars in the centre of the village.

Choji had been surprised, so had Lee. Kiba had been highly amused and had begun to take the piss, until he was reminded by Shino that something like that would never happen to him if he never grew up. This shut him up quite effectively.

Hinata had seemed to be devastated, for as soon as she had heard, she had run away in tears. It seemed that Sakura also hadn't taken it very well, although she seemed subdued. Neji hadn't shown that much emotion about it in public, but he had seemed slightly angry, walking away when they came into view, mumbling under his breath. When he was stuck in their company, like part of a group, he would either glare at Ino, or just stare at Naruto incessantly.

He himself had actually been pretty surprised. It wasn't something he had thought would happen. Ino and Naruto made great friends sure, but they didn't really work as a pair. They were too alike. He didn't disapprove of them exactly, they just felt wrong.

Then there was Sasuke. The Uchiha had taken to lurking, usually in the area's that Naruto and Ino had been. On more than one occasion he had made someone jump when he appeared out of nowhere with his face looking like a thundercloud.

Shikamaru had a pretty firm belief that Naruto had something to do with Sasuke's stranger than normal behaviour, but he couldn't place what it was. Sasuke most definitely wasn't jealous of Naruto being in a relationship with Ino. As far as he could tell, Sasuke pretty much detested the girl, if any of the dirty looks she received were any indication.

Shikamaru thought of Ino at that moment. Where he had seen caring and affection in her eyes for Naruto, he had yet to see those emotions returned. Naruto did care, he could see that much every time they were together, but his eyes weren't as warm towards Ino as hers were towards him.

He sighed then and closed his eyes. Why was he even trying to analyse all this anyway? It was all so bothersome and all he wanted was to snooze under the warm sun, his mind empty.

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"…nothing wrong with it!" An agitated voice made itself heard.

Shikamaru groaned. He didn't even have to open his eyes to see who was arguing while walking in his direction. Ino's voice was very loud and she always seemed to be bickering with Sakura about something or another.

"Of course there is. You hardly know him."

"I know him well enough."

"That's not the point. He's a guy. A teenage guy, with hormones! Aren't you scared that he'll molest you in his sleep or something?"

"Now you're being ridiculous."

If Shikamaru had been lying on his bed at that point in time, he would have grabbed a pillow and attempted to suffocate himself in frustration. Instead, he covered his face with his hands and groaned. He knew what this argument was about. A few days ago, Ino had left her parents house when they had shown their disapproval of her relationship with Naruto. She had practically moved herself into Naruto's apartment, telling him that she would find her own place soon and get out of his hair. Sakura didn't like the fact that her friend had moved in with her team-mate. The two girls, who had been at each others throats a little while back, were now on speaking terms again, if you could call it that.

"How is it being ridiculous Ino?"

"This is Naruto you are talking about. There is no way that he would do something like that." Ino defended. "He isn't some random pervert."

"He's a boy."

"An innocent boy."

"He is still a boy!"

"DO YOU MIND?" Shikamaru rarely raised his voice, deeming it too bothersome, but he was getting quite annoyed. Sighing, he sat up and stared at the two girls who had paused in their bickering to stare at him. "Some of us were patrolling at the crack of dawn and would like a bit of piece and quiet. If you are going to have a never ending argument, may I suggest that you take it elsewhere."

Complete silence answered his outburst and the two girls stared at him in shock. Shikamaru was actually slightly shocked at himself. He hadn't meant to yell that loudly.

"Sorry 'Maru-kun." Ino grinned at him, snapping herself out of her shock. "I forgot that you need 'lots' of beauty sleep!"

Sakura giggled at that and Shikamaru growled.

"Ino…"

"Don't worry. I'm leaving. I have to find Naruto-kun anyway."

With that, Ino waved at himself and Sakura and ran towards the Hokage monument. Shikamaru sighed and lay back down, resting his head on his hands and stared back at the clouds. It was a few minutes later that a rustling was heard then a presence sat down on the grass next to him.

This surprised him slightly. Sakura rarely spent any time in his company and she would never willingly sit with him while on her own.

"What do you see when you stare at the clouds?"

He stared at the pink haired girl questioningly. Sakura was sitting with her hands behind her on the grass and her legs stretched out in front. Her head was tilted back and her eyes were on the sky.

"Oh, this and that." was his reply.

"I see freedom," Sakura smiled. "Escape. Lack of burdens."

"Freedom?"

"Yes. A way of throwing away your old life and becoming a better person." Sakura stared back at him and their eyes met. She smiled sarcastically but it wasn't directed at him. It seemed it was directed inwardly at herself. "Growing up and throwing the silly things away."

"What are you getting at Sakura?" Shikamaru was intrigued. He had never heard this girl talk like this. She was the number 1 Sasuke fan girl and all he ever heard from her mouth was Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. This was a welcome break from the norm.

"I'm giving up on hopeless causes and I intend to move on with my life."

"Sasuke." Shikamaru acknowledged. "What you mean is, you're giving up on Sasuke. Why?"

Sakura nodded at his conclusion, then answered his question.

"I woke up. It was just a crush. I realised that I never saw him for real, just the him that I had made up in my mind. He didn't like me the way that I wanted him to and I realised that he never would. I need to move on." The sarcastic smile left her face and she gave Shikamaru a real smile. "Ino helped me realise that, when she began hanging out with the only boy who ever showed me a hint of real affection. I know better now. She's moved on, now I need to."

Shikamaru was impressed, but he didn't show it. Instead he lay back down on the grass and stared at the clouds again.

"Erm, Shikamaru. Is it okay for me to sit with you while you cloud watch?"

"Sure, if that's what you want."

Shikamaru listened while Sakura made herself comfortable on the grass next to him and he inwardly questioned himself why he had agreed to her company. It wasn't like he knew her very well, but what he did know was that she was an incessant talker, just like Ino was.

He was pleasantly surprised however when the pink haired girl didn't say a word while laying next to him, and the next time he actually looked at her, she had fallen asleep.

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"Are you hiding from me Naruto?" Sasuke gave a small smirk and stared up into the leaves of the tree he was leaning against. The blonde boy had been up there since he had arrived at the training grounds and had yet to come down.

"No," came the sullen reply.

"So why aren't you coming down?"

"I don't wanna!"

"Dobe," Sasuke growled. "Get down here. I thought you wanted to train."

Naruto frustrated him sometimes. He had known that as soon as he had gotten to know him. The blonde haired boy was stubborn, reckless and an idiot, but still he had stuck with him. There was just something about him that he couldn't ignore.

When he had heard about Naruto and Ino's agreement to begin dating, not even from their own mouths, he had lost a few more pieces of furniture to his temper. He had calmed down quite quickly though, not understanding why he was so angry. He had then decided to stop the frustration and focus on finding out what exactly the problem was.

"I do."

"So get down. I'm not going up there."

There was a rustling and then Naruto appeared at the foot of the tree. To Sasuke's surprise, he wasn't wearing his normal orange getup, but rather a pair of black pants and a white t-shirt. Not the slightest hint of orange in sight. As for his headband, it was attached to a loop on his waist, leaving his blonde hair loose.

Sasuke couldn't deny it. Naruto was quite a pleasant sight to behold, especially with his hair loose. It seemed that he was reluctant to get a haircut and his fringe was falling into his eyes while the rest of his hair nearly reached his neck.

"Okay, what's with the outfit change?"

Naruto pouted at him. "Ino," was the reply. "She decided that I needed more variety in my wardrobe since most of my clothes are orange. I threw on some clothes I found and escaped before she dragged me shopping. I'm not sure what she has done with my other clothes."

Sasuke shuddered. One of the things that he hated about girls was their necessity to clothes shop!"

"Is that why you were hiding in the tree?"

"I was not hiding, bastard," Naruto growled.

"That's what I would call it." Sasuke smirked. Riling up Naruto had always been a favourite pastime of his.

"That's it!" Naruto charged him, his fist held out to punch him in the face. Sasuke dodged to the left and kicked out. Naruto flipped away from him, landing on his feet a few yards away and grinned.

"Are you ready for me?"

Sasuke, instead of answering, found himself staring at a small patch of skin at Naruto's waist, which had become visible when his t-shirt had shifted upwards slightly and rumpled while flipping away. For some reason, it was calling out to him, begging him to touch it!

"Sasuke?" Naruto yelled loudly, making the black haired boy blink stupidly for a moment. What was he thinking?

"What?"

"I said, are you ready?"

"I'm always ready."

The spar began, with lots of flying fists and feet, twists and turns and dodging. It was as fast as ever, although Sasuke was distracted. His concentration was always on the blonde, but instead of focusing on his arms and legs, preparing for an attack, he found his attentions on any piece of bare skin that became visible when he moved.

Because of this, he had barely got a hit in and Naruto had the advantage. A fact that made itself well known when Sasuke found himself on his back, his waist straddled by his smirking blonde team-mate with his arms pinned above his head. He felt his heart beat speed up and resisted the strange urge to press himself into the warm body above him.

"Surrender."

"No."

"Bastard, I've beaten you." Naruto leaned down so that his breath fanned over Sasuke's cheek, making him shudder. "Give up."

"Why are you dating Ino?" Sasuke blurted out before he could stop himself, then silently berated himself for asking, but he still wanted to know. Naruto's eyes widened and then he made to get off of Sasuke's body. Sasuke gripped onto Naruto's wrists when his hands were loosened and held the blond boy where he was.

"Why do you want to know?" Naruto looked uncomfortable, not looking Sasuke in the eye, which annoyed the other boy immensely.

"Curiosity. I didn't know you liked her in that way."

"I… I… I do…" Naruto sounded uncomfortable. "She told me that she loved me, but I never thought about it before. She was my friend and I thought that was enough."

"She loves you?" Sasuke growled, his heart twisting slightly.

"Yes. She kissed me, then I asked her if she wanted to try dating." The blonde hung his head, so that locks of hair tickled Sasuke's forehead. "I couldn't tell her that I don't love her, but then again, I don't know what I'm feeling right now. I want to give it a chance."

Sasuke went silent at this point and he noticed that this annoyed the other boy, seeing as Sasuke still had a firm grip on his wrists, not letting him go.

"So what you are saying exactly, is that you're leading her on," Sasuke finally commented.

"What, no!" Naruto sounded outraged.

"Did you tell her that you have no romantic feelings for her?"

"Well, no…"

"But you're dating anyway!"

"It's not like that," Naruto whispered. "I wanted to try it out and see what happened. I just…"

He fell silent and Sasuke heard him whimper slightly.

"Dobe?"

Naruto was wincing and biting his lip, much to Sasuke's confusion. Naruto then whimpered again.

"Dobe, what's wrong?" Sasuke let go of Naruto's wrists and raised them both to a sitting position. Naruto then pressed is hands to his forehead, palms pushing it hard.

"It hurts," Naruto's wincing continued. "God, it really hurts." He had doubled over on the ground and his face was practically pressing into the grass. "It's never been this bad."

"What hurts?"

"My head. I've got to get to Baa-chan's."

Naruto got to his feet slowly and then wobbled, Sasuke catching him before he fell, holding him around the waist.

"Dobe, what's going on?" The concern in his voice sounded foreign, even to himself but was sincere. Sasuke was genuinely worried. Naruto never voiced pain to a point where he demanded help, just like he didn't. Both were too proud to admit that they needed help and were usually pushed into receiving it.

Naruto didn't look up at him, just kept his eyes closed and constantly winced. "Please Sasuke, take me to Tsunade."

Please? At that point, Sasuke decided that all questions could wait. There was definitely a problem. Not caring if anyone saw or commented, Sasuke swung Naruto up into his arms, cradling him against himself. He heard a weak, mumbled protest from Naruto, but ignored it, his mind focused on the task of getting to the Hokage as soon as possible..

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Ok? Well, please tell me what you thought. I am so happy that you are enjoying this fic and I hope you continue to enjoy it.

I sill need to update my other one! Oh well!

Luv Rie

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	8. Sanctify Yourself

Hello all and welcome to my next instalment. Thank you all so much for your reviews and I hope you all continue to enjoy this. Please read and tell me what you think. And I apologise in advance for any mistakes. If spotted, please tell me so I can rectify them. I do not have a beta and I have a prob with my spacer bar.

Hail Sir Bigduck! Erm, sorry about that!

Anyway, still no one noticed the strange item in a chapter. Shame on you all! Then again, one the characters only gave it a fleeting glance!

An Interwoven Web Of Deceit

Sanctify Yourself

It seemed that the one day that she actually felt motivated enough to get on with some of her paperwork that was mounting up, she kept getting interrupted.

"Just once," Tsunade sighed and covered her eyes with one hand, pushing the paperwork on her desk away with her other, "could you perhaps knock on my door instead of just entering?" She then looked up to see a man dressed in red and white, with long white hair leaning against the door opposite her desk, with a huge grin on his face. "What do you want Jiraya?"

"Is it a crime if I want to visit one of my favourite people?" Jiraya's grin was wide.

"It is, when all you want to do is get a free room, food and sake," Tsunade growled, moving her paperwork into one pile.

"Oh come on, I don't always mooch off you."

"Now look," she began, then her door was slammed open. "Now what?"

"Tsunade-sama," Shizume leaned on the doorframe, a worried look on her face, "Uchiha Sasuke has just entered the tower, carrying Naruto-kun in his arms. I think he's hurt."

Tsunade bolted past Shizume, heading down the stairs without waiting to ask what exactly was wrong. She burst into the small first aid room at the bottom of the staircase and immediately spotted Sasuke sitting on one of the chairs that sat next to a round table, Naruto in his lap.

"What happened?" she asked, taking in the strange seating arrangement, then dismissing it just as quickly, deeming it unimportant.

"I don't know," was the quiet reply. "One minute we were talking, the next he was crouching on the floor, holding his head and crying out for you."

"Crying out?" Tsunade questioned.

"Yeah. I figured he must really be in pain if he's actually asking for help."

Tsunade walked over to the pair and crouched down next to Sasuke, staring intently at the blonde boy. Naruto had his hands over his temples, fingers pressing into the skin. His eyes were closed tightly and his teeth were clenched.

"What's going on?" she heard Jiraya ask from the doorway behind her.

"Not sure," she placed her hand over Naruto's forehead and immediately felt the burning sensation. Of someone who had a very high temperature. "Sasuke, could you lay him down on the bed?"

Sasuke silently did as he was asked. He was even quieter that usual, Tsunade noted, which was strange for him. In her observations, he had always been a little mouthy around the brat.

"First things first," Tsunade then turned to Naruto. "Who knows about your headaches or knows that you have been in pain?"

"Only Ino-chan and Kakashi-sensei," Naruto whimpered out. "No one else has noticed."

Tsunade chose not to respond to that, instead she beckoned to Jiraya. "Could you go out and grab one of the Hyuuga and bring them back here?"

"Why?"

"Just do it," she snapped at the grumbling man next to her, "now!"

Complaining about something under his breath, Jiraya left the room and Tsunade then turned back to Naruto. "Could the pain be caused by…It?"

"No, It's not responsible for this. It must be something else."

Tsunade looked over at Sasuke, ignoring his curious look..

"You. Cold damp cloth. Put it over his head."

Sasuke complied with her request., walking over to a small sink and rinsing a cloth under the tap. While he performed this little task, she gently pried Naruto's hands from his head, then performed the seals to begin her healing Chakra and touched his forehead lightly.

"Do you have any idea what is wrong with him?" Sasuke asked, placing the damp cloth on Naruto's head, just above where Tsunade had placed her hands.

"Unfortunately, no." Tsunade frowned as Naruto continued to wince in pain. "When I last examined him I couldn't find anything wrong at all."

"When was that?"

"It was about a week and a half ago," she mused, "when the Chunnin exams were announced."

"Oh right," Sasuke sounded hesitant, which surprised the Hokage even more, "so he never mentioned to you that Ino used her Shintenshin no Jutsu

on him?"

"Sasuke!" Naruto growled weakly in protest.

"What?" Tsunade stared at the dark haired boy. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. They both collapsed in what looked to be a dead faint, then about fifteen minutes later, they both began moving again. It looked like they were both in some kind of trance."

"I'm going to have a long talk with that girl when I get my hands on her," Tsunade grumbled. "Of all the stupid, reckless…" She trailed off.

Silence reigned for a few moments, until the door was swung open and Jiraya walked into the medical room, followed by both Neji and Hinata.

"Ah, good," she gestured towards Neji, who looked at Naruto questioningly. "Come here."

"What's going on?" he asked, "Is Naruto alright?"

"That's what I want to determine," she answered. "Could you take a look at his Chakra system for me, especially around his head. He's having headaches."

"Of course." Neji nodded, then stepped over to the blond on the bed. Hinata stepped around to the other side next to where Sasuke was seated an stared down at Naruto worriedly.

"Byakugan," Neji's eyes formed his family's move and stared intently at Naruto's unmoving form. "Well, his Chakra is slightly unstable, probably because of a leak on his head."

"A leak?" Tsunade moved to lean over Naruto from near the pillow. "Can you show me where?"

Neji moved forward and ran two fingers through Naruto's hair slightly, moving slowly, then stopping at a point by his left temple, just over his eye. "Just here. It's a very light stream, but very close to his pulse point which is probably why he is in a lot of pain. Sealing the Chakra hole might solve the problem."

"Thank you Neji," Tsunade removed the boys hand and replaced it with her own, using her healing energy on that one point. It seemed to work, since Naruto began to relax and he stopped his light whimpering to a point where his eyes were open again.

"How are you feeling now?" She asked.

"I'm okay. Thanks Tsunade-baba, Neji."

Neji inclined his head, then beckoned to Hinata to leave with him. She smiled and waved goodbye, then left with her cousin. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Neji look back at the blonde, with what she was sure was concern.

"Are you really alright?" Tsunade heard Sasuke ask Naruto, in a tone that sounded like he didn't believe the earlier statement.

"I'm fine. It's only a slight throbbing again, as usual."

Tsunade frowned at that statement. So there was still something wrong.

"Brat," she sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the blonde boy. "I'm prescribing at least a day of bed rest. Go back to your apartment and get some sleep." Her frown deepened when he began to protest. "Sasuke, make sure the little troublemaker gets his rest would you." She got back up and headed over to the door where Jiraya was still standing, waiting quietly with a slightly worried look on his face. "Also, inform Yamanaka Ino that I would like a word with her as soon as she can get here."

"Ok," was the Uchiha's response, and Tsunade sighed, then left the medical room, a creepily silent Jiraya walking behind her. She felt her patience wearing away the longer the silence continued

"That's it," she snapped as soon as she entered her office. She spun around and grabbed the edges of Jiraya's red top. "What is the problem."

"I'm just worried."

"You're worried? Aren't we all?" Tsunade let go of Jiraya and slumped down onto her seat. "Aren't we all?"

XXXX

The journey back to Naruto's apartment was done in silence. Sasuke had carried the blonde boy back in his arms again, much to Naruto's protests and had made him go to bed as soon as they had arrived. Now Naruto was curled under the covers in his bed and Sasuke had taken a seat on the bed next to him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Cranky," Naruto muttered. "You didn't have to carry me. I could have very easily walked back you know."

"Probably, but It's too late now," Sasuke smirked. "I meant your head though. Also, what were you and the Hokage talking bout when you mentioned 'It' to each other?"

Naruto stiffened and looked away from Sasuke and stared at the far wall.

"What do you care anyway," was the muttered reply. "You hate me, remember."

Sasuke frowned at this response and leaned forward towards Naruto and gripped his face in his hands, turning his head so that they were staring at each other.

"Now you listen to me Dobe," Sasuke stroked his cheeks, thumbs moving gently over the lines on his face. "I don't hate you, not at all. I never did. It's just that I've never been very good at showing what I am feeling." He felt his heart begin to beat harder at the feel of Naruto's skin beneath his hands.

"But…"

"No buts, now tell me. What were you talking about? What secret are you hiding from me?"

Naruto stared up at him, fear in his azure eyes and Sasuke felt his heart tighten even more.

"I don't want to lose you Sasuke," Naruto whispered.

The tightening turned into fluttering and Sasuke released Naruto's cheeks and grasped his shoulders, pulling him up towards him and into a rough embrace.

"Lose me? Who said you were going to lose me Dobe?"

"I nearly lost you once!" Naruto's response was muffled in his shirt.

"That was different. Completely different," Sasuke tightened his hold slightly. "Look, I promise you won't loose me okay, now tell me." He then let him go and lay him back down. "Tell me Naruto," he repeated.

"Okay," Naruto closed his eyes, "I'll tell you. It's the Kyuubi."

"The Kyuubi?" Sasuke echoed questioningly. "What about it?"

"What do you know about it?"

Sasuke frowned at the question. "Well I know that the fourth defeated it and died in the process. Also that it killed hundreds and practically destroyed most of the village." He paused, "why did you need to know that?"

Naruto sighed and then pressed one of his hands over his stomach, very close to Sasuke's legs which made the dark haired boy scoot backwards a little, slightly flustered. Naruto didn't notice and closed his eyes. "It wasn't defeated Sasuke, it was trapped and imprisoned so it couldn't harm anyone again. No one could defeat it, not even the fourth, so he did the only thing he could do. He used a forbidden jitsu."

"So it was sealed?" Sasuke was listening intently, wondering why he didn't know anything about this and Naruto did, "Where?"

Naruto winced again and his hand clenched around his t-shirt. "In a small boy, born on that day. A boy with no family and who grew up with nobody. Everyone hated him, believing he was the demon, not the carrier. He spent his years being called a monster and demon, being ridiculed and spat on."

Tears were apparent in Naruto's eyes, even though he was trying to blink them away and Sasuke knew immediately who he was talking about.

"It was in me Sasuke," Naruto stared up at him. "The Kyuubi was sealed inside of me."

XXXX

"So you're telling me that the fox is inside you?"

"Yes."

"Inside your body? If that's the case, why have I never seen this so called seal?"

Sasuke was sceptical, that was obvious, but he wasn't name calling, yet. Naruto was at least partially grateful for that.

"It only shows when I'm either using my Chakra," he replied, "or when I'm worked up."

"Let me see!"

"Wha…" Naruto stared up into Sasuke's eyes in shock, then he suddenly realised the positions that they were in. They had started out with Naruto laying on the bed, with Sasuke sitting facing him on the side of the bed, leaning over him. Now, Sasuke was sitting astride him, legs pressed against his hips and sitting on his thighs. Almost like how they were seated earlier that day, but in reversed positions.

"Let me see it," Sasuke repeated. "Where does it show? On your stomach?"

"Y… Yeah," Naruto blushed red when Sasuke lifted up his t-shirt to reveal his chest. "A… Around m… my t… tummy." Damn, he sounded like Hinata!"

His blush intensified as Sasuke pulled his trousers down to his hips, making him show more skin than he would have liked.

"What a strange shape," he heard Sasuke mumble. "A spiral."

"You can see it?" Naruto leaned up onto his elbows and stared down at himself. "But I haven't used any Chakra."

"You're working yourself up," Sasuke's eyes were hidden under his hair as he stared down at the seal. He chose that moment to touch his stomach, tracing a finger over a black curl of the seal. Naruto gasped and his head fell back down onto the pillow. The skin that Sasuke was touching was tingling, a strange sensation that he had never felt before.

"Naruto," Sasuke raised his head so that he was once again staring into his eyes, hand still tracing the seal, "you are not a monster, demon or anything that the worthless villagers deem to call you. You are Uzumaki Naruto, ninja of Konoha Village." Sasuke then smirked. "Also the village idiot and Dobe!"

"Bastard," Naruto hissed back, still feeling slightly strange because of the fingers still gently brushing his skin. He felt warm, comforted and the pain in his head had faded away to a point that it was no longer bothering him. He had been so sure that Sasuke would reject him when he found out, but instead he felt relief. "Thank you," he muttered out grudgingly.

They both heard the door to Naruto's apartment swing open at that point and both Naruto and Sasuke jumped. Sasuke off the bed and Naruto backwards to fumble with his clothes.

"Naruto-kun. Are you here?" Ino's voice called out and then she appeared in the doorway to the bedroom. As soon as she appeared, Sasuke walked out the room with a muttered 'bye' tossed over his shoulder. He stopped suddenly after a few steps and turned to Ino.

"Hokage wants to see you as soon as," he muttered, then resumed his stroll out of the apartment.

Naruto watched the doorway until he heard the click of his front door closing, then he turned his focus toward Ino. "Hey," he smiled.

"Are you okay?" Ino walked over to the bed, a worried look on her face. "You look distracted."

"I'm fine," he reassured her, holding his arm out and letting her slip onto the bed next to him, leaning against his chest. "Just tired."

XXXXXXXX

To be honest, I'm not too happy with this chapter at all. It's the next chapter that I'm really looking forward to writing and I hope you will look forward to reading it. As usual, please leave me a little note telling me what you thought of this little piece.

See you next time

Rie

xx


	9. Dreamscapes And Planning

Okay, here is chapter nine. I found it a particularly strange one while I was writing it, purely because of the first part. It came to me while I was at work. Because of this, the main part that I was looking forward to writing is actually in the next chapter.

I hope you enjoy this and I hope you find it nice and confusing.

Please read and tell me what you think.

AN INTERWOVEN WEB OF DECEIT

Dreamscapes And Planning

Usually Naruto dreams in different colours. Vibrant yellow, cool blue and forest green. Usually he dreams of open fields with large streams and fish shoals. Of running through these fields, feeling wind on his hair and thoughts of pure freedom flowing through him.

He knows that this is because of the Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi wants his freedom. To be able to run through these fields again, taste the fresh air and drink the clear water.

But he cannot.

Naruto senses a deep longing during the times that he has these dreams and he knows that it is not him. It seems that, while the Kyuubi cannot influence his waking thoughts, he can interfere with his dreams. That in itself scared him. It was the thought of waking up out of sleep, to find out that the Kyuubi had taken over his body and massacred the village. He had told the Third about this fear a few years ago, but had been comforted by the old man when he was told that it wasn't possible and that his own will controlled the beast within.

At first, he thought that the new dream he was experiencing was also because of the Kyuubi, but he changed his mind quickly. Oh, he knew that he was dreaming and he knew that it was partly the Kyuubi's dream that he was experiencing, but there was more to it than that. It also didn't stop the dream from being any less vivid.

It had started out very simply. He was standing in that same grassy open field, a gentle breeze moving past him on a warm day. The sun was shining brightly in a deep blue sky. It was the kind of day that he would have gladly joined Shikamaru in his 'cloud watching,' even though there was not a cloud to be seen. It was so peaceful.

A faint growling then reached his ears and Naruto realised that it had come from his own lips. Then he felt his body move forward, slowly at first, then faster and faster until the countryside became a green and blue blur.

His perspective suddenly changed and instead of seeing the colourful countryside, he was inside a room full of ninja's. Recognisable as Konoha's ninja's, due to their headbands, but no one he recognised. The ninja's were all seated around a table in the centre of the room. The room itself was quite large, but had no windows and lamplight cast shadows on the walls. Each one long and spider like, looking nothing like whom they belonged to.

"How are we going to stop that thing?" One man on his left asked. "If it gets here, it will destroy the entire village."

"We know this," another man, this time on his right said, "but what can we do? It's a Demon. How do we stop a Demon?"

"In any way possible," a lady down the table replied, getting to her feet. "Aren't we supposed the give our lives for the safety of this village?"

Naruto stared, but couldn't make out any of the features of the surrounding ninja's. All that he could make out was the rough impression of their clothing, their gender and their shadowed faces. All in all, it was pretty creepy.

"Enough," a voice said sternly from behind him. A voice that he recognised. Slowly and once again out of his control, he turned his head to stare at the figure behind him.

"Jiraiya."

The voice that came out of his mouth was a smooth baritone, but commanding. It was not his voice, but that of an older man.

"I'm sorry," Jiraiya returned, then stared back at the table full of shadowy figures.

"We will do what we can, but our first priority is to protect the villagers."

The table erupted in conversation and Naruto involuntarily closed his eyes. The noise in the room suddenly vanished and instead, he heard a roaring noise. He opened his eyes again quickly and stared in shock at the chaos and destruction around him. Shops and homes had been destroyed, with debris scattered everywhere. Fires were dotted everywhere and sounds of faint screams were a constant background accompaniment to the disaster around him.

It was then that he realised that he was staring down at the village from a height. With this realisation, came the discovery that he was reliving one of the Kyuubi's memory's. This was confirmed when he spotted one of the Konoha ninja's moving through the air towards him, making hand seals with a very determined look on his face.

"DIE YOU MONSTER!"

Naruto gasped in horror when the man was flung backwards at such a speed, that he hit the side of the Hokage monument with a loud and sickening crack.

Staring down at himself, he didn't see the fox's body or claws, but saw only his own, naked body.

He was covered in blood!

One of his hands held the largest quantity of the red liquid, slowly becoming darker with the introduction of oxygen. His hands were dripping it down his arms and the tips of his, now longer fingernails. Small pieces of flesh from the man who had been knocked into the mountain, was trapped under his nails.

"Stop this, stop this," he began to shake, not really noticing that he could talk now when he couldn't before. "No!"

Blood continued to drip from his hand in a steady flow, as if it was coming from an open wound on himself, then suddenly everything went black and images of the village and the wind and the smells disappeared.

"REVENGE!"

The word reverberated through his skull.

"REVENGE!"

Naruto woke up at that point, yelling loudly in the dark apartment….

xxxx

The bathroom had become very steamed up, very noticeable when the shower had been turned off. The mirror itself was completely fogged over, until Sasuke wiped his hand over the surface, just enough so that he could see his face.

He had red eyes. That much he noticed straight away. Red rimmed eyes with black shadows. His lack of sleep explained that. He was also very pale and the expression on his face, looked as if he'd come to a conclusion about something but wasn't sure that he liked it. This was actually kind of the case.

He wanted to kiss Naruto!

Badly!

When Naruto had collapsed due to his headache and had been helped by Tsunade, Sasuke had felt concern and protectiveness for the blonde. When Naruto had trusted him enough to tell him his biggest secret, to comfort him and touch him were the two things that he wanted to do. When these two things were achieved, kissing him was next on the agenda.

That might have happened, had Ino not have come in at that second. He had been both relieved and angry, then scared at how his emotions were getting the better of him again. On his way home , thoughts of Naruto's lips and how he had wanted to taste them had accompanied him the entire way.

That was when the realisation of what he was thinking had hit him, the reason why he was angry when Ino and Naruto had become close and the intense hatred and jealousy he had felt against Ino when he had discovered them dating.

He liked Naruto. He liked him in the way that he was supposed to like girls.

This moment of recognition had forced him home, to his room and into his bed, shaking in shock and disbelief. After a few hours, when he had calmed himself down a little to actually have a clearer mind, he began to think about all of the things about Naruto that irked him which, when put together, made up what was Naruto.

He had been awake all night and all of that day, trying to get his emotions into order and had finally reached the conclusion that he had fallen for his blonde team mate. Hard. Hence the reason that he wanted to kiss him.

Sasuke wasn't adverse to liking another guy. He was pissed at the poor timing and the way that he had realised it. Ino was an obstacle that he had to overcome before he could move forward and claim the other boy as his own. But how? What could he do?

Sasuke left the bathroom and went back into his bedroom. His bed was just as he left it. Rumpled from all of his tossing and turning. His clothes lay scattered on the floor and his weapons pouch lay across his chair, discarded absently the night before.

He sighed and grabbed a clean pair of night shorts from his draw and then slipped back into his messy bed, still thinking on what to do.

He did have a slight idea. It wasn't very good but was the best that he had at that point. Then again, a few modifications, and it might work out quite well.

Sasuke smirked and closed his eyes. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would arrange and execute his plan!

xxxx

"Are you sure that you're alright?"

Ino stared at her boyfriend worriedly. After he had woken her up the night before with his yelling, he had been quiet and slightly distant with her. He had told her that he had experienced a disturbing dream but didn't want to talk about it. He had then promptly curled back under his covers and closed his eyes, muttering an apology for waking her. Now, during breakfast, he was just staring into his bowl, swirling the wood tasting cereal around with a spoon.

"I'm fine Ino-chan. I'm just tired, that's all."

He smiled at her them, one of his fake, plastic smiles. When he smiled like that at her, when she knew that it wasn't real, it was obvious that something was going on that he wasn't telling her.

"Naruto…"

"You've got to see Tsunade-baba today, right?" he interrupted, leaning back in his chair and dropping the spoon into his bowl with a clank.

"Yes," she grasped her wrist with her other hand. "This afternoon. I promised to go shopping with Sakura this morning."

Naruto stared at her, dropping the plastic smile much to her relief and placed a hand under his chin.

"Well, if you want me to go with you, I'll be waiting at the field by the training ground for you. I'm just going to relax this morning."

"Okay, sure." Ino breathed a sigh and smiled. She got up from the table and then leaned over and kissed Naruto gently on the cheek. "I'll be going now. See you later."

"Er, yeah. Sure." Naruto turned his head away from her and picked up his spoon again.

Ino wasn't sure what to think when she closed the front door behind her. Naruto was hiding something and it was beginning to worry her. She thought she knew everything about the blonde boy now, since she had found out about the Kyuubi, but obviously not. He was still hiding.

xxxx

"I truly hate girls bedrooms!"

Sasuke was sitting on a pale blue bed, next to a pale yellow dresser on which an array of fluffy toys were situated. If anyone had walked in at that moment, their first thoughts would have been why was Uchiha Sasuke sitting in the bedroom of Yamanaka Ino. The room that she had left while she had temporarily moved in with Naruto. Truthfully, he didn't want to be there either, but he needed a few things from her room to succeed with his plan. Things that he couldn't believe that he was even considering taking

"I hope no one actually sees me with this stuff," he grumbled, stuffing what he had taken into a small bag. A small bag with kittens etched all over it. "I knew I should have brought my own bag with me."

He hoped that he had left the room like he found it. Unbelievably clean and tidy. Fortunately, Ino's parents had been out, so getting in had been relatively easy. He wasn't one for breaking and entering, but he had known where the spare key was kept. Of course he had to use that to his advantage. Getting in was easy enough. Getting out was going to be the hard part!

He left Ino's bedroom and crept down the hall towards the staircase, keeping his head low so that he was invisible to anyone outside who would look in that direction. He reached the bottom of the stairs, listening for any noises that could signify that someone was on their way back in.

Luckily for him, he made it outside the house without any error and had managed to lock the door before the sounds of other people made themselves known. He had enough time to duck for cover before Ino's parents began walking down the main street. Ino's home had two entrances. The front door which was also the flower shop, or the backdoor which was the main door that the family used to get in and out of the house. It was also the only door that Sasuke had found the key to.

Ino's parents entered the house and closed the door, making no acknowledgement that they had noticed a strange presence hiding in an alley near their home.

Sighing, Sasuke crept forward and slipped the key back where he had found it, then quickly sprinted away, before anyone caught sight of the bag that he was carrying.

xxxxxxxx

I do hope that you enjoyed this. The next chapter will be out soon as I know exactly how it will go.

I hope I portrayed Sasuke okay. That part was extremely difficult to do but now, his attitude is going to be totally direct and single minded. I love obsession!

By the way, all that Ino gave Naruto on the bridge was going to just be some of the chocolates they both like, but it seems that I neglected to actually put that into the chapter. Rie Baka!

I'm not really using the honorific in this story. Its more the chan and kun for closeness. I've never been exact so I'm not going to overdo them, k?

Thank you for reading and please review.

Rie

xx


	10. Tangled Emotions Part 1

Hi all.

I have no excuses for this very late update. I bow my head in shame for myself. Gotta turn off the modem sometimes so I can get this done!

Anyway, thank you to all who are reading. I love you all and I appreciate all of your reviews.

This chapter is for all who wanted Gaara in the story. I tried and I hope I did okay with him.

Well, here you are:

AN INTERWOVENWEB OF DECEIT

Tangled Emotions - Part 1

Tsunade stared at the red haired boy, sitting across the desk from her. She had only spoken to him on a couple of occasions but had heard many stories. The main one being the one where 'Naruto kicked his ass' so to speak. She felt that it was most definitely embellished.

Gaara was a very quiet person. Admittedly he looked slightly freaky with his black-rimmed green eyes, always staring. Numerous people had backed away from him since he entered the village. It was actually a good thing for the boy that Konoha did not know about his demon. Then again, it was a good thing for the village that they didn't know. Gaara's reaction to being mistreated was totally different to Naruto's. Where Naruto would try to ignore the comment, by acting clownish or like he didn't care. Gaara would probably attempt a homicide.

Safety first. The village would remain ignorant of Gaara's demon.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention Gaara," Tsunade placed the scroll into the top draw of her desk, "but can I ask you a question before you go back?"

Gaara inclined his head slightly, agreeing silently to the request.

"How much can you tell me about the affects that demons have on their hosts? As you are a host yourself, I need some advice."

Gaara continued to stare at her, unblinking, which was beginning to spook her slightly.

"Why?" was his one word answer to that one.

"Lets just say, I'm curious."

"I don't believe you."

Tsunade sighed. "Okay. I'll just say that it concerns someone in our village."

"Uzumaki!"

"How did you…?" Tsunade blurted out in shock, before catching herself. "I mean, what about him?" She mentally cursed herself for losing her composure so easily.

Gaara smirked. "When you said someone, you meant Uzumaki." This was said as a statement, not a question.

"Don't be absurd." Gaara's smirk widened. Tsunade resisted the urge to hit him. "What makes you think that?"

"I wasn't sure until you went into shock and confirmed it."

She gripped the table, the force in her hands making the wood creak slightly. She was getting angry. With herself and with the smug boy sitting in front of her.

"What I would like to know, is why Uzumaki is involved with your question," Gaara continued. "Maybe he has seen or has had a close encounter with another demon, or maybe he also has one inside of him."

Tsunade looked away, knowing she had just given the answer away without saying anything, but not being able to help herself. She wished she had never asked the question in the first place.

"I should have known," she heard Gaara mumble. "I knew there was something about him, since the time we fought, although I wasn't sure. This answers a few questions."

"He's been getting headaches lately," Tsunade sighed. "Strange and painful headaches with no explanations as to why. I thought that the Kyuubi was doing this to him."

"So, Uzumaki is the host to the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

"Yes. The fourth sealed him into Naruto, by sacrificing his own life. The Kyuubi was too strong to defeat."

The sound of a chair scraping across the floor was heard and Tsunade looked up to see Gaara's retreating figure, heading to the door.

"Wait," Tsunade stood up as well, "you haven't answered my question yet."

Gaara stopped by the door, a hand on the door handle. "I don't have an answer Tsunade-Hokage. It depends on how the demon was sealed into the host. You told me how his demon was sealed and it was done differently to mine. Uzumaki is different to me. His problems with his demon are not the same as mine."

This was the only answer that Tsunade got from Gaara as the red haired boy left her office. It was probably the only answer she was going to get!

xxxx

It was the feeling of being watched, that made Naruto pause in mid step on the way to the Ramen stand and look around warily. The watching felt cold, but determined.

"Who's there?" he called out, staring around the buildings. The street was very quiet for mid morning. Only a few bustling housewives walked the paths between the shops, talking in low voices. No one answered to Naruto's tentative call.

The feeling didn't fade and Naruto didn't move from his spot next to the building. He kept staring around himself, still not seeing anyone suspicious.

"Maybe if you remembered that there is an up and down, as well as a left and right, you wouldn't have been caught off guard."

The slightly mocking voice came from above and behind him, and he turned around and stared upwards.

Gaara of the Sand was sitting on top of the high wall, one leg crossed across the other with his elbow resting on it and his chin resting on his hand. The way that he was staring at him, made Naruto shudder involuntarily.

"Gaara. What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you!"

"Why?"

Gaara answered by suddenly jumping down from the wall, grabbing him by the upper arm and pulling him into the alley between the wall and the next building.

"I want a word," Gaara finally answered, stopping at the end of the narrow alley next to some wooden crates.

"There are better ways of having 'a word' than dragging me down an alley," Naruto grumbled, pulling his arm out of Gaara's grasp.

"In private."

"So why didn't you say that?"

The redhead just stared at him, making no move to answer the last question. Naruto then realised that Gaara wasn't wearing his normal attire, just like he wasn't and was now dressed in the uniform of a Chunnin. He still had his gourd strapped across his back.

"Well," Naruto looked away. "It looks like you got promoted."

"Yes."

"Why are you here?"

"Mission."

"You're finished?"

"Yes."

Damn it Gaara," Naruto turned back to stare at the other boy, "can't you speak in constructive sentences at all?"

"Yes."

Naruto sighed and pressed a hand to his slightly throbbing head.

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"The Kyuubi!"

Naruto dropped his hand and looked at the boy in front of him in shock. He knew? No, he was jumping to conclusions.

"What about it?"

"About the seal. How it is affecting you and why you never told me that you are also a container for a monster."

Naruto's eyes were wide. "Who told you?" he rasped out. Gaara knew? In that case, who else knew?

"Your Hokage can be quite chatty, especially when she doesn't mean to be. Her spoken mistake grew and grew until she was rambling."

"Tsunade told you?" Naruto yelled. "Why that no good, lousy old hag!"

After ranting for a few minutes, pacing the alley a little, he noted that Gaara was still silent, but watching him intently. It wasn't a challenging stare, but more intense, like he was looking straight through him. This disturbed Naruto slightly.

"Well come on then, talk to me," he finally said, stopping next to the redhead and leant against the wall. "What exactly would you like to know?"

Naruto couldn't actually believe that he was having what could be only described as a normal conversation with Gaara. . The other boy had never been classed as social. Most people who knew of him, would say that he was a murderous psychopath and would avoid him at all costs. After a few encounters with Gaara, Naruto had deemed him as 'not so bad!' In fact, as the only other person that he felt could relate to his situation, they were actually kind of friends.

"The Hokage said that you were suffering with strange headaches," Gaara kept his eyes on him, "and you can't seem to get rid of them."

"Yeah."

"She asked me if I knew why you would be getting them. I couldn't help. I get headaches from Shukaku, but he is not sealed away in me, as Kyuubi seems to be sealed in you. As far as I heard, your headaches are not caused by Kyuubi."

"Well, that's kind of a relief," Naruto sighed. "I've been worrying about that. I didn't think he had anything to do with it, but you can never be sure."

"So you have no idea what is causing them?"

"Not a clue." Naruto brushed his hair away from his face, and then noticed that Gaara had moved closer to him. "Gaara, what….?"

Before he knew what was happening, he found himself pinned against the wall, Gaara's lips pressed against his and Gaara's hands holding his shoulders.

The kiss didn't last a minute and Naruto didn't respond to it, too shocked at the fact that it was Gaara doing this. Also, in his mind for some reason, were thoughts of Sasuke. What would his reaction be if he saw this? Ino only flittered through his mind.

When Gaara did pull away from him, licking his lips, all he could do was stare.

"Why… Why did you do that?" he finally burst out, covering his mouth with his hand. Gaara smiled at him. It looked strange on his face.

"Reflex action. I couldn't help it."

"Reflex action? REFLEX ACTION?" Naruto's yell echoed in the alley. "HOW DARE YOU?"

"Easily."

"Gaara," Naruto growled, grabbing his collar and dragging him close again.

"Naruto, calm down and let me go or I will do it again," Gaara moved even closer. Naruto let him go again after pushing him back, away from him.

"Don't you even consider it." Naruto continued to glare but inside, his stomach was churning. Gaara had not given him a proper answer for any of his questions yet. The whole conversation had been full of cryptic answers from the red haired boy and that unexpected kiss had been the last straw. "I'm leaving."

He moved past Gaara and began walking back up the alley.

"Wait," Gaara grabbed onto his upper arm and he flinched slightly.

"What is it?" Naruto growled.

"Look," Gaara tightened his grip, "I won't say that I'm sorry for doing that. I'm not. I've been wanting to do that for a while now, but I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't offend me, it's just…" Naruto felt his anger slowly fade. "You surprised me. I didn't expect that."

"Was it unwelcome?"

"Unwelcome?" Naruto echoed. "Well, I'm dating Ino at the moment and I never thought about things like this, especially with another guy." '_Except Sasuke,'_ his mind supplied evilly. '_Especially that evening after you told him about Kyuubi!'_

"So it was unwelcome."

"Yes, no, I don't know." Gaara let go of his arm and Naruto slumped against the wall. "I don't know what I'm feeling at the moment. I'm just confused." He heard Gaara shuffling his feet and then saw his hand approach him and settle on his face, gently.

"I'll leave you to your confusion then, before I confuse you further. I'll take my leave."

He removed his hand and then walked up the alley. He turned the corner when reaching the street and then disappeared. Naruto stared after him for a few moments, then shook himself and begun to cuss…

xxxx

"So, since when have you two started hanging out together?"

Sakura looked over at the pliant Shikamaru, snoozing next to them, under the tree they had decided to have a break by. He seemed contented to her and not once had he complained about being bored or finding something too bothersome. It had been a pleasant shopping trip, stocking upon a few necessities and a few indulgences. In fact, she was munching away on a small chocolate ice cream and Ino actually had a large mint flavoured cone and had bought a pack of chocolate covered toffee balls.

"Since you and Naruto began going out," she answered, taking another lick of her ice cream. "He's a very interesting person to talk to."

"Shikamaru?" Ino looked at her strangely. "You sure?"

"Yes, she's sure," Shikamaru muttered from behind her. Ino let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah. You've changed Sakura, did you know that? What happened to you?"

"How do you mean?" Sakura bit into her cone. I'm the same old me."

"Same old you," Ino repeated, scoffing. "Yeah right. What happened to your Sasuke obsession?"

"My Sasuke obsession." Sakura stared at her oldest friend, pondering the question. What actually did make her change her mind about the dark haired heartthrob? There were a few things that had helped. Sasuke's dismissing attitude at his home. Ino's talk with her to 'grow up.' It was a numerous amount of things. "I guess you could say that I got over him. I realised that I was wasting my life chasing him and that I didn't like him in the way I thought I did. You were right about that." She saw, then ignored Ino's smug look.

"Well, that's good." Ino opened her pack of chocolate balls, offering one to her before eating one herself.

"What happened to your constant diet?" Sakura couldn't help but ask. "Aren't you afraid that you'll put on weight?"

"I don't need to diet," was the other girls reply, "I'm quite happy as I am."

"Really?" Sakura asked sceptically.

"Really."

"What brought this on?

"Naruto-kun told me that guys didn't go for girls who were built like sticks, in so many words. He told me that dieting was a pointless exercise. Anyway, I seem to burn it off when I train with him."

"Is he training you for the Chunnins?"

"Yeah. He said he would teach me a technique, but we are still in the early stages at the moment. It's really difficult."

Sakura stared at her friend, watching as she munched on her sweets. Her best friend had changed a lot. Then again, Naruto's influence seemed to have that affect on people. Ino was more open, more friendly and most definitely less self obsessed. She was happy and Sakura admitted that she was also happy for her. She now just wished the same for herself.

"Well," Ino stood up and brushed down her skirt. "I've got to go and meet up with Naruto-kun now." She folded closed the paper bag which held the remainder of her toffee balls and placed it into her pocket. "I'd better save a few of these for him, since he'll moan if I don't."

"How will he know that you've even had them?" Sakura stood up as well, and then prodded the half-asleep boy next to her with her foot. Said boy muttered and turned on his side, facing away from them.

"Trust me, he'll know."

Sakura blushed, immediately understanding her meaning.

"Hey Ino," she whispered. "What's it like?"

"What is what like?"

"You know," Sakura stared down at the unmoving Shikamaru and deemed him to be still asleep, "kissing!"

"In what way do you mean?"

"I mean feelings. How do you feel when Naruto kisses you?"

"How do I feel?" Ino stared at her, them smiled. "It's a wonderful feeling. I feel so safe and warm while in his arms and I don't want to leave and when we kiss, I just don't want to stop. It feels so right, you know."

Sakura nodded, even though she didn't know at all. As long as Ino was happy, that was the important thing, right? She didn't need to understand the fundamentals did she?

"Okay. I'll come with you to meet Naruto," Sakura pushed Shikamaru's back hard with her foot. "So will this lump."

Shikamaru muttered to that and sluggishly stood up. "I suppose I'd better."

Ino nodded and smiled, then led the way through the woody area's that led to the training field. Sakura mused to herself while Ino chatted away to Shikamaru even through the boy was hardly listening. "During training with Naruto and Sasuke, she had noticed that the blonde haired boy was so much more subdued lately, as if something was constantly on his mind. She just hoped that there wasn't something wrong. Sasuke also was acting even more closed off than usual.

"I hope he's there already," she heard Ino mutter, "I hate waiting around for him while he decides he's going for a Ramen break."

"He'll probably be asleep," Sakura smirked and then raised her voice, "HEY NARUTO. ARE YOU HERE?"

Ino smiled at her and then shook her head. "If he was, he's probably awake by now. You and your big mouth."

"Hey!"

"Naruto?" Ino called, quieter that Sakura had. They turned a corner, around a large bush and immediately saw Naruto, lying on his back under the trees. He was propped upon his elbows, a flustered look on his face. Sakura thought he looked guilty about something but couldn't figure out what it was.

"I… Ino-chan," Naruto stuttered out, his eyes fluttering upwards to the canopy above them, then back to his girlfriend.

"Are you alright?" Ino sounded concerned, kneeling down next to Naruto. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Naruto didn't answer that question. Instead, in front of both Sakura and Shikamaru, Naruto dragged Ino onto his lap and began to kiss her in a way that wasn't really suitable for a public viewing.

XXXX

Sorry about this below, but when I thought up Naruto's conversation with Gaara, this immediately came to mind. A small conversation in Loaded Weapon. (Love that movie for its absurdity.)

What are you doing here?

Waiting for you!

But what brought you here?

A taxi

Yeah, but why?

My cars in the shop!

No, I mean why the hell did you come here?

Anyway, I hope I can get part two up soon, so you can all know what has Naruto so flustered, and no, it wasn't Gaara.

Anyway, please read and review. Tell me what you think, and again, I'm so sorry for such a late update.

Rie

xx


	11. Tangled Emotions Part 2

Well, here you are. I finally updated this story. My muse has abandoned me and I have been having great difficulty doing this.

To Kai, Kori Nibiki, 90210, Anon, clowangel, ghostninja85, mE, Sukura, Van, Tsuki No Kitsune, Sailor Epyon, Rosmary Kiss, Yugi-obsessed, Lady Samurai, Vermillion Wolf, and all others who have reviewed. I love you all and I appreciate all of your reviews.

I'm note sure if you will enjoy this chapter or not. I'm sure you will all guess what is happening here and that mysterious object is mentioned again.

Anyway, here you are:

****

AN INTERWOVEN WEB OF DECEIT

Tangled Emotions - Part 2

The grass was springy and soft and the sun was warm. Naruto smiled as he sat down in the shade of large tree, on one side of the training grounds. If Ino was to turn up while he was dozing, there was no way that she would have missed him.

Sighing contentedly, he lay back amongst the grass, placing his hands behind his head. He just wanted to forget everything for a little while. Forget he was having headache problems, forget that he was dating Ino, forget that Gaara had kissed him and forget that he was experiencing weird feelings while hanging around with Sasuke. At this moment, he felt calm and relaxed. He didn't need to think about things at this moment, especially involving his feelings.

Silence reigned for a few minutes. Nothing but the rustling of the leaves in the branches above could be heard, moving gently in the sight breeze.

Naruto closed his eyes, letting himself relax and doze. He probably would have fallen asleep, if there hadn't been a loud rustling in the bushes next to him. He opened his eyes to see Ino tumble out of the bushes, leaves in her hair and attached to her clothes. She looked slightly peeved as she stood up and brushed down her skirt.

"Ino-chan?" Naruto sat up on his elbows and stared at the blonde haired girl standing in front of him. Something felt amiss, but not exactly wrong. This feeling increased slightly when Ino stared back at him, then dropped her eyes and blushed.

"H… Hey there Naruto… Kun." Ino stuttered out. Naruto blinked in surprise at Ino's nervousness, then smiled.

"Hey Ino-chan, finished shopping?"

"S… Shopping?"

"Yeah. You did go shopping with Sakura, right?" Naruto was becoming confused. "That was what you told me you were doing."

"Yes, yes. Of course. Shopping."

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, sitting up properly. Ino looked embarrassed and wouldn't look at him in the eye.

"Yes, I'm fine," Ino replied quietly. She moved towards him and then sat down on her knees, facing him.

"And did you change clothes? I'm sure you were wearing red this morning."

Ino looked down at herself in confusion, then looked back at him. "I went to get changed. I was too hot. Blue is a cooler colour."

Naruto stared at her face, watching as her eyes darted back and forth from looking at him, to looking at her lap. "Are you sure you're okay? You look kind of strange."

Ino gave him a sharp look, the shy expression wiping off her face immediately. "What do you mean, strange?"

"Worried," Naruto rectified, "like you have a problem that you can't solve."

"Oh, right." The sharp look faded from her face and the blush re-appeared.

"Ino…"

"Can I ask you something?" Ino interrupted, "and I want an honest answer."

"Of course."

"What are your feelings towards Sasuke?"

"Feelings?" Naruto felt a slight blush forming on his cheeks and he coughed, trying to get rid of it and the strange emotion that had risen in him as soon as Sasuke's name had been mentioned. He blamed Gaara and his kiss that morning for this. "What do you mean exactly, feelings?"

"As in, what do you feel when you are with him? Do you hate him?"

Naruto pondered the question, unsure on where this conversation was going but wanting to find out. "Well no, I don't hate him. It's more like we are always trying to gain the upper hand against each other. Our spars usually continue until neither of us can move. I'd say that it was more like friendly rivalry, although the friendly part gets very strained sometimes."

"Strained?"

"Um, well, not as friendly," Naruto waved his hand, avoiding the question.

"Is that all?" Ino tilted her head slightly, her eyes not leaving his face. Her stare made Naruto fidget slightly.

"I do worry about him as well, you know. He is my best friend after all. He always seems so lonely. It's his eyes I suppose." Naruto stopped fidgeting and stared curiously at Ino, "Anyway, why do you ask?"

Ino didn't answer. Instead, he saw her nod at something, then she moved closer to him and swung a leg over his so that she was practically astride him.

"What are you doing?" he began to panic.

His body froze as Ino sat herself down on his pelvis, leaning down so her chest was pressed to his and Naruto had a splendid view of her bra underneath her loose top. He shifted his eyes and stared into her face.

"What do you think I'm doing Naruto-kun," she all but purred at him. He gulped and closed his eyes.

"I, I don't know."

"Well, obviously I'm going to kiss you, then get what ever else I can!"

"Wha…" Naruto was cut off as Ino pressed her lips onto his, her tongue entering his open mouth. Her scent surrounded him, a flowery fragrance along with something else. To his sensitive nose, it smelt slightly musky with a hint of oranges. Tangy. A smell that was most definitely not Ino.

The warmth of the other body pressed him down, slender fingers twining gently into his hair and thumbs were stroking along the edges of his ears. Her lips slid over his own, slowly but firmly. Her tongue rubbing against his, tickling his palate with every removal and re-entry as another breath was taken.. Ino had never kissed him in this manner. He had only ever shared soft, tentative kisses with Ino, almost shy, like every touch was another new step and experience. Ino tasted like mints, like her toothpaste she had sitting in his bathroom. Spearmint. This kiss did not taste of mint, more like sugar candy pieces, the kind that melted in your mouth and leaving the sweet aftertaste for quite a while.

This was not Ino's taste. This was not Ino's kiss.

This was not Ino!

Even as this realisation hit him, he still could not stop himself from kissing back the one above him. He moved his arms so that they were circling the waist of the Ino impostor and moved his head to the side slightly to give them a better angle. He was lost. His heart was beating incredibly fast and the taste of the one above him was intoxicating.

"HEY NARUTO. ARE YOU HERE?" A voice penetrated the haze of mist in his mind. The person disguised as Ino broke the kiss sharply and pulled herself away from him. She then disappeared much faster than she had appeared, into the canopy of trees above.

"Naruto?" That was Ino's voice. The real Ino's voice. He knew this since the voice that had interrupted him first had been Sakura's voice. He had enough time to prop himself up and wipe his mouth before Ino and Sakura appeared in front of him, Shikamaru trailing behind.

"I… Ino-chan," Naruto stuttered out, his eyes fluttering upwards to the canopy above them, then back to his girlfriend. She was wearing the red dress that he had seen her wearing that morning.

"Are you alright?" Ino sounded concerned, kneeling down next to Naruto. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Naruto had no answer to that. He had just spent his time kissing someone who wasn't Ino but had looked like Ino, and now Ino, the real Ino was sitting next to him, in the same place that 'Ino' had sat, moments earlier. His head was spinning in the confusion of it all. One thing flashed through his mind, suddenly clearing away the confusion. Kiss Ino. Kiss her the way he had kissed 'Ino' and that would explain things.

He grasped Ino's arm and pulled her onto him. He held her firmly on his lap, wrapped one arm around her waist and moved the other to support her neck. He then moved in and kissed her, using his tongue to gently open her mouth. She opened it willingly and he deepened the kiss.

Mint

Ino tasted of mint and also of chocolate toffee, pointing out to him that she had been eating his favourite sweets before coming to meet him. The kiss was warm and sweet, but that was all. He didn't get that rush of heady emotion he had felt during the other kiss.

Almost in disappointment, he pulled away and plastered a small smile on his face.

"Sorry about that Ino-chan. I couldn't help myself." The only excuse he could come up with. How lousy.

"That's okay," Ino looked dazed, her hands were gripping Naruto's shoulders tightly, as if letting go would cause her to overbalance.

Naruto felt a pang inside him. Partially guilt. If he appeared nonchalant now, he would definitely hurt Ino's feelings, so for the moment, acting as normal as possible was best.

"So Ino-chan, don't tell me that you didn't save me any chocolate balls….."

xxxx

Naruto deserved an award for his great acting skills, Shikamaru noted as he stared at both Ino and Naruto. Something had happened to Naruto before the four of them had met up. That much was obvious from the slightly flustered look he had given them when they had joined him and that kiss with Ino. That was slightly extravagant. Now though, he looked distracted, like his mind was elsewhere.

Shikamaru didn't usually concern himself with what others were doing, but he actually found himself inwardly curious on what was wrong. Bit by bit, Naruto had become quieter and quieter. He couldn't see that there was any reason for it..

"Shall we go then?" Ino linked her hand with Naruto's and began pulling him along, "I don't want to make the Hokage wait too long."

"I need to see her too," Shikamaru decided to speak. "We'll walk with you."

Sakura stared at him questioningly, which he ignored. Instead he gripped her upper arm and they both walked behind Naruto and Ino. The walk was done in silence, with Ino occasionally humming a tune slightly off key to herself and swinging her and Naruto's joined hands.

"Hey Naruto, have you seen Sasuke-kun lately?" Sakura suddenly asked.

As Shikamaru watched, Naruto's shoulders tensed and from where he was walking, saw Naruto bite his lip and furrow his eyebrows.

"Not today," he replied in a stand offish tone of voice. "He's probably off training by himself."

"Oh."

Shikamaru turned his head and stared at the girl whose arm he was holding onto. Sakura was giving Naruto a curious look, almost as if she was suspicious of his answer. He did admit that it was a bit vague, coming from the blonde who usually took great delight in cussing and swearing in the same sentence as the other boys name.

"Do… Do you know if he is okay?" Sakura spoke up again. "I haven't seen him around for a couple of days now."

"As far as I could tell from when I saw him last, he seemed okay," Naruto sped up his pace until he was the one pulling a protesting Ino along the path and leaving himself and Sakura behind.

"That was strange," Sakura commented next to him. "I was expecting a little bit more than that."

Shikamaru agreed.

xxxx

"Right young lady. You've got some explaining to do."

Tsunade stared at the girl sitting on the other side of her desk. Ino looked slightly worried and she held her clasped hands in her lap.

"Excuse me?" Ino asked. "I'm not sure I follow."

"What did you do to Naruto when you attempted your Shintenshi no jutsu on him?" Tsunade leaned back. "Sasuke told me that you both passed out. This is important Ino. What happened?"

"Well, I, um." Ino was hesitating and she seemed scared of something but she pushed on anyway. "I got into his head like I was supposed to, but instead of being in a position to control his body, I found myself in a dark, damp corridor. There was nothing in it." Here Ino paused again and shuddered. "It was then that I heard a noise. A whining coming from down a side passage. I walked towards the sound, determined to find the source of it."

"What did you find?" Tsunade pressed."

"A fox. A small fox, trapped behind huge bars."

"A small fox?"

"Yes. At the time, I didn't know why someone would abandon a fox in a cage all by itself with no food and no water.. It looked so sorrowful and lonely, that I had to try and help it."

Tsunade acknowledged the point made. Anyone with a shred of decency would try to help an animal in need. "So what did you do?"

"I noticed that from where I was standing, there was no way I could reach the seal scroll holding it in, so I went to look for something to stand on. While searching, I found a small room. Inside was a red chest and a crate." Here she paused and looked thoughtful.

"A chest?" Tsunade asked. "There was a chest?"

"Come to think of it," Ino rubbed her forehead with a finger, frowning, "why didn't I remember it before? It was a strange thing to find there."

Tsunade frowned also. A chest? What did a chest have to do with the Kyuubi? "Ino," she leaned forward, "what do you remember about the chest?"

"Well, it was red, with strange markings down the sides. It wasn't very big, about this size," here she held out her hands to the width of two scrolls, "and it had a seal scroll, much like what was over the cage."

"Another seal?" Tsunade was completely confused. She only knew about the one seal inside Naruto and that was the Kyuubi seal. She hadn't known or been told about any other. What else could the Fourth(1) have done to Naruto? What else could have been so bad that it needed to be sealed away?

"Yes," Ino continued, "only it had a slight tear in it and the chest was cracked slightly. A small stream of mist was coming out of the crack."

Tsunade felt her skin prickle. This must have been what was causing Naruto's headaches. The mist stream that Ino mentioned coincided with the Chakra stream Neji spotted when Naruto had come to her in total agony. The question now was, what was inside that chest?

"Hokage sama…"

"Did you open it?" she interrupted.

"No," Ino continued, "I heard the fox whine again, so I pushed the crate out to the cage. I don't think I thought about the chest again. Instead I attempted to take the seal off the cage. I stood on the crate and reached up to it, but before I could touch it, Naruto appeared and stopped me. That was when I found out what was actually in the cage."

"The Kyuubi," Tsunade whispered.

"Yes," Ino replied. "He is pretty rude." Tsunade was surprised to see a slight blush appear on Ino's face. "I.. Er.. Had a slight argument with him. I guess I lost my temper."

"Then what happened?"

"That was all. It was then that I found myself back in my own body, Naruto staring at me from beside Sasuke. I never did find out why Naruto was getting those headaches, although he did seem to get better after that. I don't know why."

'So Naruto never told her,' Tsunade mused. "Who have you told about this?" she asked aloud.

"Just my mother, just before I left her house," was the reply.

Yamanaka Arie(2). Tsunade had met her a couple of times. Ino's mother was a very stubborn lady but she cared about her family. The first few times she had met her, she had been trying to hold her husband back from joining the fight against the Kyuubi, holding her newly born daughter against her chest and crying openly. She had lost both her brothers that day. The second time had been a few years later. She had another child, a boy. She seemed haunted, even though she smiled.

Most recently, she had seen her was yesterday, requesting that she ask her daughter to come and see her. She had looked resolved and calm, almost determined.

"Speaking of your mother, she wants you to go and see her sometime today."

Ino looked back at her defiantly. "No. I refuse to hear her moan at me, demanding I leave Naruto-kun. I wont!"

"Yamanaka-san," Tsunade frowned. "I don't want to hear your childish moaning. Go and visit your mother!"

"Shall I take that as an order then?" the girl asked sullenly.

"If that's what you want."

"As you wish, Hokage sama."

Ino didn't quite stomp out of the room, but Tsunade felt the need of the girl to do so. The slam of the door proved the point. Tsunade sighed and pressed the fingertips of both ands to her forehead and sighed. She felt her own headache approaching fast and cursed her decision of accepting this job again.

xxxxxxxx

And there you are. Another chapter. I do hope that you enjoyed it and please review. The more I get, the better my motivation to update.

Now, quickly:

(1) Does anyone know the fourths name? Or is that something no one has mentioned yet?

(2) Does anyone know anything about Ino's family. They are going to appear in this but I hate to create someone that already exists.

Thank so so much for reading and please continue. The next chapter will be up when it is typed

Rie

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	12. Forgiveness And Confessions

Hi all. Here is the next chapter. Again I apologise for its lateness, so I tried to make it a tad longer than the last chapters.

To the reviewers:

Lady Samurai, ghostninja85, Haibara, Ayako, lalala, Saki, Sukara, Terry, Kai, Fantasy, AsanoMatsuya, izumi, mkh2, VaL, UnOrthodox, Sailor Epyon, Phox VS Frawg, OOF, sciphyqrl, sweetlilazn, Rosemarykiss,Tsuki no Kitsune, Kyuubi-kun

I want to thank you all for answering my questions and reviewing. Please keep reading. If I've missed anyone, please tell me so I can slap my wrist with a ruler (or try!)

A few extras:

Nissie

I have always had a slight problem with the ! Button. Really, its ridiculous and I need to stop, but thank you for pointing it out and I'll try to rectify it. Oh, and your guess on the chest. Very good! (soz)

justme

The Shika/Saku thing? I personally think they would be good. They are both smart and even though I don't like her, Sakura has a less shrill voice than Ino and I feel that Shika would appreciate that.  
I wasn't sure on how much Gaara knew or though he knew so I left it as he didn't know but was very suspicious.  
Cussing/Cursing are practically the same thing, but where cursing can either mean swearing or, to place a curse on something, cussing is only, to swear. To cuss. It's in the oxford dictionary.

Also, thanks for your review as well. I love to read long reviews like that one.

Okay. If you see any grammar errors, tell me and I will rectify them. I'm really tired as I write this and I know that there is sure to be a couple.

****

AN INTERWOVEN WEB OF DECEIT

Forgiveness And Confessions

Naruto had never liked to sit and wait for anything, feeling that just hanging around and doing nothing was just a waste of ones time and energy. Sitting outside the Hokage's office, waiting for someone to come out, fell into that category of 'time wasting'. He had lasted sitting on that bench, doing nothing but stare at the wall for all of five minutes, until impatience had gotten the better of him and he decided to go exploring..

After a short time of wandering the tower, he realised that he might as hell have stayed where he was. The tower was pretty much empty, with only a few random pictures on walls with boring scenery. The guards which were scattered around the tower, didn't speak to him at all and practically ignored his existence. Some even gave him death glares, which he ignored. Every floor was the same, until he reached a corridor with tapestries along the stretch of one wall. The corridor itself was dark, due to the very small windows which didn't let in very much light.

From what could be seen, the tapestries were all a reddish gold and instead of a specific picture, there were patterns which formed strange scenes. They weren't very clear, due to the lack of light. Even trying to get a close look wasn't working.

He was definitely curious as to what was on the tapestries, which was strange for him, considering he didn't take much interest in art usually but he found the patterns intriguing. Naruto decided that he would get a lamp from one of the lower levels of the tower.

Making a note of what floor he was on, he left the corridor, going down the stairs to one of the lighted area's. On his way down, he literally bumped into Tsunade, who was on her way up.

"Old hag!"

"Brat!"

Naruto grinned at her. "Is your meeting over? Where's Ino?"

Tsunade stared at him expressionless, then reached out and pulled sharply on his ear, nails digging into the skin.

"Owowowowowow," Naruto grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her off him, "what are you doing?"

"I want a word."

"You didn't have to grab me in the process," Naruto pouted when she released his ear. "What is with people pulling me around when they 'want to talk'?"

Tsunade ignored that comment and leaned against the wall, folding her arms underneath her chest. "I have a request. Do you think that maybe, if you do something stupid again, such as let people into your mind to a dangerous place, you could inform me? That way I could take steps to see that it doesn't happen again?"

Naruto leaned against the opposite wall and copied her stance. They were both still on the main staircase, which Naruto felt was a silly place to have a conversation, but if that was what she wanted…. "No problem, although I don't see what the problem is."

"The problem, as you put it," Tsunade leaned forward, "is that she could have tried to free the Kyuubi. From what little I understand about the seal is, if it is released, it will kill you as well as itself."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. You see what I'm getting at?"

"I got it. No letting anyone into my head. Gotcha."

Tsunade gave him a small smile. "In answer to your question about Ino, she has gone. I told her to visit her parents soon, so hopefully she go there soon. You should be going too. Its late.

"But…" Naruto trailed off It was late and it would be easier to see the tapestries in daylight, even if it was scarce on that floor. "Oh fine."

Tsunade reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair, making him protest and try to push her hand away. "Goodnight Naruto."

xxxx

The flower shop had a closed sign on the window. At first glance, it looked like an early lunchtime closure, but when looked at closer, you could tell that it hadn't been opened all day. This could explain the eerie silence that accompanied the empty street.

Ino didn't really want to be there. The idea of arguing about the same thing all over again, this time with both of her parents, didn't really appeal to her very much, but even she realised that trying to talk it out was better than continuous ignorance. Naruto had repeatedly told her that she should make up with her parents and when she had told him of Tsunade's order to see her parents, he had agreed and told her to go today. Family is important, was his constant argument.

Even though she had waved that point away, she secretively agreed with him. She hated the fact that she was no longer on speaking terms with her own family. Also, she felt like she was invading Naruto's personal space. She was sleeping on his bed while he slept on the sofa. Practically rearranged his house to suit her own tastes and even made Naruto dress differently, according to what she thought looked good. It was his home and she was just a temporary lodger, even if she was his girlfriend.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped over to the back door of the shop (which so happened to be the front door of the house) and knocked, not feeling right just walking into the place that she had walked out of and was no longer her home because of it.

After a few seconds, the door opened and a small head appeared in the crack between the door edge and the doorframe and wide eyes stared up at her in surprise.

"Ino-neechan?

"Hey Makoto. Why are you answering the door?" she answered, quite relieved that it wasn't her father. He was the most likely person to start yelling at her in the street, causing a scene.

"Mum and Dad are talking. They didn't hear the door," was his quiet response.

Ino smiled at him. If there was one thing that she had definitely missed, it was her little brother. "Well, are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to let me in?"

Makoto backed up, pulling the door open and Ino stepped over the threshold, into the narrow space beyond it and removed her shoes, putting on her house slippers. Surprisingly, they were where she had left them. She then stood up and followed her brother down the hall.

The Yamanaka living room was the same as it had always been, although there was a melancholy air about the place which she noticed as soon as she entered. Her parents were sitting on small chairs, each with a cup in their hands and they were talking quietly. They looked up as she walked in but neither of them offered a greeting.

"You wanted to see me?" Ino asked stiffly, feeling uncomfortable in the tense surroundings. She then felt Makoto slip a hand into hers and she relaxed slightly.

"Ino, yes," her mother looked at her squarely and gave her a small, hesitant smile. "How are you?"

"Fine."

"How has everything been since you've been gone?"

"They've been fine mother," Ino sighed, "would you get to the point. I don't want so stand here all afternoon, answering pointless questions."

"Yes, right." Her mother looked down for a moment, then raised her head again. "Ino, I want you to come back home."

"Not until you can change your convictions," Ino's tone went cold, "I told you my reasons for leaving and I'm not about to change them." She felt Makoto squeeze her hand in a comforting gesture and she released her tensed shoulders slightly.

"I know you wont," her mother didn't break their eye contact, "so I want you to invite Uzumaki-san around here one evening for dinner. It would be the best way to get to know your boyfriend."

Ino's jaw dropped.

"I had a chat with the Hokage a few days ago," her mother continued, "and I basically got a telling off. I decided that I didn't want to loose my only daughter because I wasn't open minded enough to get to know a boy who had no choice in the life he has. A boy who has lived alone and has been shunned since he was a small child. I'm sorry for it and I'm willing to give him a chance."

Tears had been welling in Ino's eyes during her mothers small speech and now they were dripping down her cheeks. Her mother looked so ashamed herself and her father wouldn't look at her and even he had a look of guilt about him.

"I want to meet Naruto-kun, Nee-chan. Please?" Makoto pulled on her hand, making her stare down at him. "I want to see him and I want you to come home."

"Makoto…" Ino continued to stare down at her brother., looking into his wide, light blue eyes, the same shade as her own. She really did want to come home and her brother really wanted her back.

"Okay," she said shakily. "I'll do it. I'll come home. But if Naruto feels any bad vibes or you act nasty, I'm out of here and I will not come back."

"You have my word that I'll try my best to feel welcome," her mother agreed. Ino stared at her in silence for a few moments, then she dropped Makoto's hand and dove into her mother's arms, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

xxxx

The decision to explore the tapestry corridor in the daylight had been a good idea at the time, but trying to explore, with the very annoying, last member of the Uchiha trailing behind him was not exactly part of the plan. For some reason, Sasuke had been speaking to Tsunade, when Naruto had barged into her office and 'told' her that he was exploring the tower. He had then barged back out again, grinning, not waiting for the tirade of swear words that usually followed when he had ignored the rules or her privacy. Actually, he did it, just so he could piss her off. She was more fun that way. It turned out though, Tsunade had sent Sasuke to follow him, to determine what it was that Naruto was looking for in his exploration. The reason he was trailing him like a shadow, not talking but always there.

Naruto had looked over about half of the tapestries, before he became tired of the Uchiha's silence and turned to him with a sigh.

"What is it that you actually want Sasuke? I'm sure you aren't actually enjoying trailing after me."

"Who said I'm not?" The first thing the other boy had spoken, after telling him about Tsunade's anger. "I happen to enjoy art and these tapestries are very interesting."

"You haven't even been looking at them," Naruto growled, "because I know you've been staring at my back the entire time."

"Actually, I was looking at something lower," the amusement in his voice was hard to miss and Naruto felt a blush fast approaching. Why, why did Sasuke do this? Did he take some perverse pleasure in tormenting him?

"Shut up, bastard," seemed to be the best that he could come out with.

"Make me, Dobe," was Sasuke's equally as childish answer. Naruto sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"What exactly is it that you want, Sasuke?"

"I told you, Tsunade sent me."

"I know you did," Naruto stood in front of him and looked at him, "but what do you want?"

Sasuke returned the stare for a moment, then answered. "I wanted to ask you a question." His eyes bored into Naruto's, making his heart speed up slightly and his breath a little harsher. "I want a honest answer."

"S… Sure."

"Do you think about me?" he asked. "Am I a constant on your mind? Does the speed of your heart beat change at the sound of my name or the tone of my voice?"

The dark haired boy moved closer to him and Naruto unconsciously moved backwards until he felt the tapestry behind him.

"Why are you asking me that?" Naruto practically whispered, shock etched on his features. "Why?" Was the other boy able to read him so easily?

"Just answer me Dobe." Sasuke moved even closer until he was a step away. His hands pressed against the wall, just above Naruto's shoulders and he leaned closer, moving his head down slightly so that they were at eye level. This made Naruto realise that Sasuke was actually still a little bit taller than him.

"No," was his obstinate answer. Sasuke moved even closer to him, so that his chest was pressed against his own and his breath tickled his ear.

"Tell me."

Naruto shivered. His hands were hanging by his waist and he was using all of his will power, to stop himself from gripping onto Sasuke's shirt and pulling the dark haired boy closer.

"I… I…" Naruto bit his lip. What was he supposed to say? 'Sasuke. Even though I'm dating Ino and care about her, I cant seem to stop thinking about you. Also, could you kiss me, right now!' Yeah right. That would really go down well with his team mate. "I cant." Using every ounce of his resolve he had, he placed his hands on Sasuke's chest and pushed the other boy away. In doing so, he pushed himself backwards hard and found himself getting tangled up in tapestry as he felt the wall behind him move.

"Dobe," Sasuke reached out and grabbed Naruto's wrist, pulling him out of the mounds of fabric which had now fallen off the wall. Naruto found himself once again pressed against Sasuke's chest, but this time Sasuke had placed an arm around his waist with a firm grip, giving him no way of escaping, especially since he was still holding onto his other wrist. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Let me go." Naruto began to wriggle, trying to escape but Sasuke tightened his hold and Naruto realised what he was wriggling against and stopped abruptly, a light blush painting his face.

"What if I don't want to?"

"I don't care what you do and don't want. Let me go now."

"Why?"

"Why?" Naruto spluttered in disbelief. What the hell? Sasuke wasn't smirking but instead was staring at him fixedly. If Naruto didn't know any better, he would say that the expression in his eyes was almost hungry. "What do you mean, 'why'?" he continued.

The expression on Sasuke's face did not change and as before, he brought his face down so that it was directly opposite Naruto's.

"Why would I want to let you go?" Sasuke answered. "I'm very comfortable holding onto you." With that said, he squeezed Naruto's waist, then stroked his fingers against the covered back.

"Maybe I don't like it." Naruto couldn't look away from Sasuke's dark eyes, which were slowly edging closer to his. "Maybe _I'm_ uncomfortable."

"Then I might consider agreeing to your request, if that turned out to be true."

Sasuke's face was now so close to his, that Naruto's nose was gently brushing against the other boys. Naruto felt his eyelids droop as he felt Sasuke's gentle breath on his face. His heart was thumping incredibly fast in his chest and he felt his stomach turn over in nervous excitement.

"Do you want me to let go?" Sasuke whispered. He licked his lips, letting only the tip of his tongue show. Naruto's breath sped up at this movement and his arm, which until now had been hanging at his side, (the other wrist was still encased in Sasuke's grip,) reached up and gripped the other boys shoulder tightly.

"Do you?" Sasuke's expression changed from hungry, to molten sensuality, boring into Naruto's eyes with such intensity that he gasped.

"No," he finally got past his throat, his eyes slipping closed. He heard Sasuke let out a groan, them felt warm lips press onto his own.

Naruto recognised the kiss, almost as soon as he opened his mouth to accept the other boys probing tongue. Sugar candy. Sweet and addictive. The fake Ino! The citrus scent which had been faint before, was a bit stronger now. How did he miss it before?

Sasuke released his arm and instead cupped the back of his neck, twining his fingers into golden strands of hair. Naruto dropped his hand to Sasuke's other shoulder, then moved both arms to encircle Sasuke's neck.

-

He was completely breathless. With Sasuke's lips sliding over his own, teeth nibbling every now and then on his bottom lip and a hot tongue brushing every part of his mouth the other boy could find, there was no moment to draw breath. His knees felt weak and he knew that if Sasuke wasn't holding him up, he would have fallen. He'd never kissed Ino while standing up. He had always been seated when kissing his girlfriend.

Girlfriend!

Ino!

Shit!

Naruto untangled himself away from Sasuke, pulling sharply away from the kiss with a gasp. He managed to push Sasuke a few steps away from him, then placed his hand on his chest, panting. What had he just been doing? He stared at the other boy, who was looking at him darkly, hands clenched to his sides.

"And what, pray tell, was that for?" was the question directed at him from the other boy.

"You… You kissed me!" Naruto raised his hand and pointed a shaking finger at Sasuke. The boy being pointed at, smirked at him and raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, I know I did, and you were enjoying it."

"Bastard!"

"Dobe!"

"Aaahhh. What am I going to tell Ino?" Naruto panicked, fisting his hair in his hands and pulling on it. "I just kissed another boy, willingly."

"Tell her the truth," Sasuke supplied unhelpfully., crossing his arms in front of him. "Tell her you're breaking up with her and are now going out with me."

"What?" Naruto's mouth practically hit the floor.

"You heard. Tell her that."

"What makes you think," Naruto moved forward towards the other boy, "that I would want to date someone like you?" He yelped suddenly, jumping back as Sasuke moved in to grab him again.

"Let me see now," Sasuke muttered scornfully, "maybe due to the fact that you just 'let; me kiss you."

"I never said that you could."

"You didn't stop me!"

"You didn't let me!"

"DIDN'T LET YOU?" To Naruto's shock, Sasuke began shouting at him, totally loosing his composure. "I ASKED YOU WHAT YOU WANTED. I ASKED IF YOU WANTED ME TO LET YOU GO. I BLOODY ASKED." He raised a shaking hand and ran it through his black tresses, then let it drop again. "I asked," he continued, running out of steam." You said no."

"I did, didn't I," Naruto stated quietly, looking away from the black haired boy. It was his fault in a way. Sasuke had given him plenty of opportunities to get away, but he hadn't taken them. He then looked back at Sasuke, but didn't meet his eyes. "Why did you kiss me?"

"Because I wanted to."

"That's not an answer, you bastard," Naruto closed his eyes and breathed slowly. "Why did you do it? What were you hoping for? What is going through that twisted mind of yours?"

All he received was a tentative silence and only slightly harsher breathing noises met his ears. Naruto looked up at Sasuke and actually met his eyes this time.

"I wanted to," was the quiet answer, "I've been wanting to for a long time now and I was hoping that I could get you to reciprocate those feelings."

"Reciprocate? That means 'to return' right?" Naruto asked.

"Yes."

Naruto felt a blush rising on his cheeks and he turned away quickly in embarrassment. How was he supposed to reply to that?

"What the?" he heard Sasuke say questioningly all of a sudden and he turned his head and stared in the same direction that Sasuke was looking in and noticed a door. A door that had most definitely not been there when he was exploring the corridor earlier. From the mess on the floor in front of it, it was obvious that it had been hidden behind the tapestry that he had accidentally wrenched off the wall.

"A hidden room," he smiled, the conversation forgotten for the moment. "I wonder what's in there."

Sasuke stepped towards the door, either in curiosity or because he wanted to avoid his last question, and pulled the latch, twisting it to the right and opening the door. It wasn't locked, which was strange, considering that it had been a 'hidden' door.

Sasuke pushed it open, revealing the interior of the room. There was nothing inside, apart from a couple of small boxes in a corner. Naruto took one look around the room, but then found his attention drawn elsewhere.

He heard a voice. It wasn't loud and it wasn't quiet. It was sweet, caressing, like nothing he had ever heard before. He couldn't actually make out what was being said, but he felt like he should know the voice. Just hearing it made him feel complete, whole. As if something had been missing his entire life and had only just returned to him. The only thing was, it kept slipping away from him, teasing him with its presence.

He felt the urge to move forwards, into the strange room which the voice was coming from.

"Naruto?"

Sasuke's voice seemed far away from him. Even though he could hear it, the urge to ignore it was strong and he moved forward, into the doorway, past the doorway, into the room.

The strange voice seemed to be louder inside the room and he could make out a jumble of words that the voice seemed to se speaking.

"I will return to innocence."

"The seal must be completed."

This is the only way. It must be kept secret."

"NARUTO," Sasuke yelled in his ear, shaking him by his shoulders. This snapped him out of his trance and the voice disappeared. Naruto stared up into Sasuke's worried, dark eyes.

"W… What?"

"What's going on? Why weren't you answering me?"

"I… I…" Naruto was confused. "I don't… Someone was speaking."

"Yes, I was Dobe."

"No. Someone else was. Didn't you hear them? It was in this room."

Sasuke gave him a questioning look, then shook his head in a negative. "There's only you and me and I didn't hear anyone else speaking."

"But I heard…" Naruto trailed off as a searing pain shot through his forehead. A familiar pain. He clapped a hand to his forehead and winced.

"What's wrong?"

Naruto shook his head slightly at Sasuke's question. "Just a headache again. Nothing much."

Sasuke didn't look convinced. "As bad as that time I had to take you to Tsunade-sama?"

"No, just a headache."

"You sure?"

"Yes." Naruto pushed past him and left the room. When he reached the hallway, he broke into a run and headed back down the stairs. He had to escape. The corridor, the room and most importantly, Sasuke and the strange feelings that the other boy had invoked in him.


	13. Discovery, Trepidation and Confusion

Well, finally. I thought I'd never get this done, but here it is, next chapter is up.

I'm so sorry about the delay on this. I really have to pull myself together and get writing. Anyway, I do hope you all enjoy this chapter and please don't give up on me. This story will keep going and I'll try and get on the bal!

Anyway, thanks for your reviews. Please keep at it.

All other notes will be at the end of chapters, that way, you don't have to read them if you don't want to!

As always, I do not own this wonderful franchise. I just love writing about it.

**An Interwoven Web of Deceit**

**Discovery, Trepidation and Confusion**

Sakura was what you would call, an open minded girl.

In her room, she had quite a large scroll collection. Most of these scrolls were an assortment of different jitsus possible with different levels of chakra. Different tomes with different explanations. A multitude of school used scrolls and self study scrolls.

She also had a small collection of books. Some were written stories but most were manga. Girls manga. Most importantly, two thirds of her collection was Shounen Ai orientated, with a few Yaoi for good measure.

In short, Sakura was a fan girl!

These books were what made her open minded but there was one book, one, that had started it all.

Come, come paradise, volume 6!

It was quite by accident that she had even seen inside that book.

Kakashi had slipped it inside her pack during a mission, asking her to keep an eye on it for him. That same evening, she had seen him reading volume five, and so, brimming with curiosity, she had excused herself to her room and proceeded to flick through volume six, her mouth open in shock.

Kakashi read this?

Yes, she was in shock but she was also mesmerized, not being able to take her eyes from the images of two boys 'getting it on' and she had been sorely disappointed when Kakashi had come upstairs to reclaim it.

When they had arrived back in Konoha at the end of the mission, she had gone to the book shop and purchased her own copy, (with great difficulty) of volume six. She had also thumbed through the other volumes but they had none of the same content. This had helped push her into searching out different books with the same content.

The reason she was remembering this, was standing on the other side of the corridor from her, completely oblivious to her existence.

She had been asked by the Hokage, when she had arrived for her lessons, to go and find the two boys, who were exploring up stairs for some reason. Tsunade-sama looked agitated, Sakura decided, climbing the winding stairs, checking each floor for voices or movement.

It was three quarters of the way up that she found them, in the middle of a corridor filled with tapestries. She would have called out, until she realized what it was that they were actually doing.

From a distance, it could have nearly mistaken for another fight that the boys regularly got themselves into, if it wasn't for the very close proximity of the two. After she had taken a few steps down the corridor, that was when she realized what was going on, hence her dip into her memories of the past.

Sasuke had Naruto trapped in his arms, one hand on his waist, the other buried in his golden hair. Naruto had both arms circling Sasuke's neck.

They were kissing.

Passionately!

Seeing this, the first thing she thought of was Ino. What was Naruto doing? What was _Sasuke _doing? Watching them for a few moments, she couldn't keep her eyes off of them. If she had seen this and had still not gotten over Sasuke, she would still have found it hot! She was glued to the spectacle in front of her, until suddenly, Naruto ripped himself out of Sasuke's grasp and backed away.

"And what, pray tell, was that for?" Sakura heard Sasuke ask. He sounded irritated with Naruto. Was he angry that Naruto kissed him?

"You… You kissed me!" Okay, maybe it was the other way around. Sasuke had kissed Naruto. Sakura began to back away, deciding to flee the scene before hell broke loose.

"Yes, I know I did, and you were enjoying it," she heard Sasuke reply in a smug voice, irritation gone. She moved faster, expecting an eruption from the blonde. She was right.

"Bastard!"

"Dobe!"

She was heading down the stairs again, when Naruto let out a yell of frustration and then everything else was muffled out by the other floors as she hurried downwards.

"Wow," she whispered to herself when she reached the Hokage's office, "that's definitely something that you don't see everyday."

"What isn't?"

Being slightly dazed over what she had just seen, she could be forgiven for blurting out her thoughts to just anyone.

"Two boys kissing like that. Naruto and Sasuke. Whoa!" She shuddered.

"What?"

Sakura snapped out of her daze to see Tsunade standing outside her office door, staring at her, shock written on her face. Shizune was nowhere to be seen.

"Hokage-sama…"

"Sasuke and the Gaki were kissing upstairs?" Tsunade pressed, stepping towards her and scaring her slightly with the strange glint in her eye. "Are they still at it?"

Sakura gave the Hokage an incredulous look. "No, they began fighting straight afterwards."

"Damn it all," Tsunade leaned back, one hand on her hips, the other across her eyes, "I always miss things like this."

If Sakura had deemed it safe, she would have face faulted on the stairs. Instead she trailed after her Hokage's stumbling figure, back into her office and kept a dumfounded look on her face. Who would have guessed that the Hokage was also a fan girl!

"Umm, Hokage-sama," she began when they had both entered the office, "doesn't it bother you?"

"Bother me?" Tsunade grinned at her, flopping back into her chair. "My dear girl, I wrote a book on it. One of my most productive pieces of work I must admit, although the old coot wouldn't let me write another. Said it was bad for his image! Personally, I don't think his image could get much worse, pervert that he is."

"Old coot?"

"Jiraiya."

"Oh." Sakura understood. "You mean the one that Naruto calls 'Ero Sennin,' don't you?" Understanding then dawned. "Wait, do you mean you wrote a copy of 'Come Come Paradise?"

"Volume number six," Tsunade said proudly. Sakura smiled slightly.

"It makes sense now," she muttered, noticing that Shizune had entered the office without knocking.

"Now then," Tsunade rubbed her hands together. Shizune sat down on the chair next to Sakura and gave Tsunade a questioning look, "did Sasuke notice that you were in the corridor, after he had finished kissing Naruto?"

Sakura ignored Shizune's gasp and replied. "Well, I don't think he saw or heard me. I'm sure he would have stopped me leaving if he had."

"Okay," Tsunade pushed away a wad of scrolls on her desk, much to Shizune's muttered complaints, and pulled a blank piece of paper and a pen towards her, "Sakura. We need to plan how you are going to get Sasuke to confess to you. You need to get him to spill as much as possible!"

Sakura's astonished look re-appeared on her face and she focused that look on the Hokage. Shizune cleared her throat.

"Um, Tsunade-san, shouldn't your duties come first, before you begin on new gossip?"

Tsunade waved her hand. "Maybe, but this is about our favorite Gaki. I need more material to tease him with."

"I suppose you've got a point," Shizune agreed grudgingly.

"Of course I do," Tsunade pumped her fist into the air, a triumphant look on her face, "I always do."

"Only when you're sober!" Shizune muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Anyway, how are we going to get Sasuke to confess?"

"We could beat it out of him I suppose," Tsunade pondered. "Sasuke is incredibly stubborn."

"You don't want to accidentally kill him!"

Tsunade smiled. "Of course I don't. We need to see them together as a loving couple. I wouldn't hit him too hard."

The fact that the resident Hokage and her assistant were chatting away like two gossiping housewives with nothing better to do was strange enough in itself, Sakura decided, but the gossip being about Naruto's love life bordered on slightly insane.

"The best way of questioning him is to pretend that you know nothing, but drop hints that make him unsure." She heard Shizune volunteer finally. "That way, he will answer without realizing he has given himself away."

That's a great idea, Tsunade grinned. The grin was infectious, making Sakura grin back at her. The smile faded in seconds as another element to this planning came to mind.

Ino

The girlfriend.

Her best friend.

How could she deny her best friend the happiness that she had earned?

Then again, both Naruto and Sasuke were her friends. Close friends and they also deserved to be happy.

"Hokage-san," she said hesitantly. "I don't think that I can do this. I can't hurt Ino."

Tsunade sighed. I understand, but can I ask you something?"

"Okay."

Tsunade got up and began pacing behind her desk. "You say that you don't want to hurt Ino, but what about Sasuke?" she asked, all traces of her smile gone. "What about Naruto? Do you want to hurt them?"

"Well no, of course not," Sakura protested. "It's just that.."

"Personally, I think that we should get all the facts together first," Shizune interrupted, twisting her black hair away from her face. "You'll need to get information on how each person feels. Only that way can you get a fair assessment of the situation."

"I guess," Sakura nodded.

"Well, Ino's feelings are a given. We think that Sasuke also has feelings for Naruto, so it is just Naruto himself that we are unsure on."

Confirmation with Sasuke, then find out what was going on with Naruto. Sakura nodded. Once that was taken care of, then she could decide on what course of action to take with her friends.

xxxxxxxx

There was a triumphant grin on Sasuke's face as he climbed down the stairs, leading to the exit of the Hokage tower.

Even though he hadn't received exactly what he had wanted from Naruto, he had at least gotten something. He hadn't actually planned it and he was still reeling from the kiss he had received the day before.

Admittedly, getting a kiss from Naruto while disguised as Ino wasn't the best way of getting the other boy to notice his feelings but it was a start. If anything, he had definitely confused the other boy and the kiss had been returned, which held promise.

"Sasuke-kun," he heard Sakura's voice come from downstairs. She was standing outside the Hokage's closed office door with Shizune. Both had wide smiles on their faces which immediately placed the Uchiha on guard. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"What about?" was his muttered reply. Sakura just smiled wider. Something was up.

"I just need you opinion on something."

Sasuke relaxed somewhat. Obviously just some girl problems that needed a mans thoughts. Sasuke sighed. "Alright."

"Great," Sakura grabbed his wrist and pulled him down the rest of the stairs, waving goodbye to Shizune and pulled him out of the Hokage tower. Sasuke let himself be dragged, wanting this conversation to be over with. Sakura pulled him along until they had reached one of the many open grassy area's of Konoha. She then sat down and looked at him expectantly. Sasuke sighed and sat down next to her.

"Okay, what did you need?"

"Well," the smirk hadn't left Sakura's face. "How would you go about, telling someone that you liked them?"

Sasuke flinched and stared at the pink haired girl in disbelief. Was she serious?

"I mean," Sakura continued, seemingly understanding the look she had just received, "from a guys point of view. How would you notice if a guy liked you? What are the signs?"

"How should I know?" Sasuke tried not to sound defensive, hoping it worked. "And why are you asking me? Didn't you get enough information from when Naruto was following you around like a lost puppy?"

"This is a different scenario," was her reply, "and anyway, I just wanted to know how you would go about it."

Sasuke stared at the pink haired girl, who was sitting on the grass innocently, although the edges of her mouth were trying to turn upwards.

"What are you getting at Sakura?"

"I just wondered how you would do it," Sakura tilted her head slightly and pressed her finger to her chin. "Would you follow them around, obsessively and possessively, glaring at anyone who came near them, or would you move in for the kill and kiss them in an abandoned corridor, even though they were dating someone else?" She was openly grinning now. Sasuke stood up, fury written on his features.

"What did you see?" he ground out, "What do you know?" His mind was in turmoil. Did she know about his feeling for the blonde haired boy?

"Well, I did come across an interesting scene on the tapestry corridor of the Hokage Tower a little while ago," she replied, "but I should have noticed it a long time ago." Sakura smiled up at him, surprising Sasuke with its sincerity. "I mean, you've always been obsessed with Naruto, not always in a good way. He has always been number one on your mind, even when you were after vengeance from your brother. That's why you couldn't kill him."

Sasuke flopped back onto the grass, laying back with a sigh. He didn't realize he had been that obvious, thinking he had hidden his feelings quite well."

"You weren't obvious about it Sasuke," Sakura read him easily again, "I just watched and learnt. You aren't the only one in the village that likes him, you know."

Sasuke sat up at that and stared at her in surprise. "Who?" He asked, not adding anything more to that but knowing that Sakura understood what he was asking.

"Well, Hinata for one, but I think that everyone knows that but him," she started, "and of course, Ino. Hyuuga san does and…"

"Wait, Hyuuga likes him, as in Hyuuga Neji?"

Sakura nodded. "Now that I thought was pretty obvious. Ever since the Chunnin exams, they have gotten closer. "When you left, they were together a lot, partnering up for missions and what not. Hyuuga was very protective of him when they went to get you back. I think he probably resents you."

Sasuke growled. That was the last time he ever let the Hyuuga get close, the bastard who had fate on the brain. "Who else?"

"Gaara."

"WHAT?"

Sakura winced, so did Sasuke, realizing just how loud he was at that moment, but Gaara? The psychotic masochist?

"Gaara likes him too," Sakura continued. "He just cant keep his eyes off of him when they are together and when they aren't, his name is spoken quite often at random moments."

Sasuke groaned and covered his eyes. "No more. I don't want to know any more."

"You did ask," Sakura grinned. "It seems you have a lot of competition."

Sasuke scowled suddenly. Naruto was dating Ino and Ino was Sakura was Ino's best friend. He was definitely missing something here.

"Why exactly are we having this conversation?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be running over to Ino and telling her what you just saw her boyfriend doing with me?"

"Well, I should," Sakura's smile left her face and she stared down at her lap, "but both you and Naruto are my friends too. You all deserve to be happy. I don't want to hurt Ino so I'm not going to say anything, but," she looked up again, a steely look in her eyes, "both you and Naruto are going to sort yourselves out and then you are going to tell her everything. If you don't, I will find a way of hurting you!"

Sasuke nodded slowly. Sakura smiled again, a curious look in her eyes.

"Tell me, what was it like to kiss Naruto?"

XXXX

When did his life become so complicated?

Naruto's daily routine used to consist of getting up, eating breakfast, training, eating lunch, a spar with Sasuke, dinner, training, then going to bed until morning. It might not have been the most varied routine but that was what he did and he was okay with that.

He admitted that he had always wanted attention. His whole life had been spent seeking it, but this wasn't what he had been expecting.

A girlfriend. Now he had always wanted a girlfriend, believing that her job would be someone who gave him their undivided attention at the ignorance of all others and he had actually believed that Sakura would be the best choice for that particular job.

It seemed that fate enjoyed laughing at him!

Not that he found fault with Ino or anything, he just hadn't expected her of all people to be interested in him. Ino had been popular all through their academy years, always surrounded by a crowd. She had never actually been nasty to him, but she had never really acknowledged his existence either. Sakura had yelled at him a lot which had meant that she had at least noticed him, but both girls had been part of the 'Sasuke-kun fan club' and in their eyes; no one else was worth their time.

This had changed when Sasuke had left the village, although Sakura had still stubbornly convinced herself that she was in love with him and that she could get him to return her feelings if she kept trying.

It seemed that fate had enjoyed laughing at her too!

If he understood the situation correctly, which he was sure that he did, it seemed that instead of liking girls, Sasuke liked guys, namely him! Admittedly, he had noticed that Sasuke had been acting a little odd around him since around the time he had been dating Ino and he knew that he had been acting strange himself. For some reason, Sasuke had been constantly on his mind. Ever since the day that he had told the other boy about the Kyuubi, whatever he did, the first thing on his mind was Sasuke.

What he didn't understand, was why he had dressed up as Ino. Why go through all of that, just to kiss him? He didn't bother with that a little while ago, so why then?

That kiss! Just remembering it made him shudder, tingles shooting down his back.

Naruto pushed open the door to his flat with a sigh and moved into the living room, throwing himself onto the couch when he reached it. He spent a few minutes musing to himself before he looked around the room.

It had been cleared out!

All of his stuff was there. The odd scroll and a t-shirt lying over the side of the table, but all of Ino's items were missing.

Curiously, he moved into his bedroom and discovered that all of Ino's stuff was missing from in here as well. If it wasn't for the fact that the rooms were still neat and tidy, he could believe that Ino had never been there at all.

What was going on?

Where was Ino?

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Okay. That is it for this chapter. I hope it's okay. I am definitely going to push things along in the next chapter. Naruto meeting Ino's family and what Sasuke resolves.

Anyway, Sasuke's Iris, Escagirluk. phoenixdown7, Kori Nibiki, dark mousy, Hitomi No Ryu, yianne21, Sukara, izumi, Cyndi1, BD, sciphyqrl, Kyuubi-kun, Kali Swifteye, Kichi Hisaki, Lady Samurai, Lady of Gryffindor, Sailor Epyon, ILLK, Nissie, Rosemary Kiss.Thank you so much for reviewing.It made me so happy.

Iceman-F1. Thank you for being totally honest with me. I do understand that some people don't like the elements that are in my story and I am flattered that you took the time to read it anyway. I hope you keep reading anyway and I will try when this story is done to write a hetro one. I can write them, I just haven't done it in a while. I want to get this one and my Harry Potter ones finished first.

Once again, thank you.

Read, review and wait. I'll try and get the next one done faster. I'll make myself sit down and type.

Rie

xx


	14. Emotional Showdown Part 1

Well, this is an attempt at another chapter. I'm a bit wary of writing any slightly sexual scenes so your comments will be greatly appreciated. All other notes are at the bottom of the page.

I do not own it. I borrow it, use it, then put it back.

**An Interwoven Web Of Deceit**

**Emotional Showdown - Part 1**

Sasuke sat alone in his room on the middle of his large bed, staring downwards with a bemused expression on his face. His curtains were drawn over his windows, blocking out the light of the setting sun. The desk light was on next to his bed so the room wasn't completely dark. On the white sheets in front of him was a book. It was orange and had tell tale markings on it that showed it as one of the books that Kakashi carried around with him all of the time, although this wasn't Kakashi's book.

It was Sakura's.

The conversation that he had with Sakura, before she had lent him this book had been slightly scary:

_Sakura leaned her chin on one of her hands and stared at him in curiosity._

"_Have you thought about beyond kissing him?"_

_Sasuke gave the girl sitting beside him a blank look. "Thought beyond?"_

"_Yeah. You know, other things. Surely you have," here, Sakura stage whispered, "urges!"_

"_I'm not sure what you're implying." The expression didn't stray from his face. Sakura stared at him incredulously, her eyes wide._

"_You are joking? You're a teenage boy and you're telling me that you don't think about sex?"_

_After being put as bluntly as that, Sasuke realised exactly what Sakura meant and he felt his cheeks warm up and then blinked in annoyance. He was blushing, damn it._

_Sakura grinned. "See, I knew it."_

"_Knew what?" Sasuke growled, "I didn't admit to anything." When had Sakura become like this? It was like she had a split personality or something._

"_You may as well have done, "Sakura nodded at him, then stood up, brushing down her skirt. "You're face totally gave you away. Completely innocent!"_

_Sasuke muttered a few choice words under his breath and then stood up as well._

"_I've got the perfect thing that you can borrow," Sakura clapped her hands together as if she had just thought of the of the perfect plan, but she was a bad actor. It was obvious to Sasuke that she had been scheming from the beginning of the conversation. "Come with me."_

_She didn't drag him this time, probably because Sasuke moved his arm out of range before Sakura could grab it. He followed her nonetheless, all of the way to her house in genuine curiosity. Upon reaching it, Sakura dove in and out very quickly, then handed him a book. _

The same book that was now in front of him. He had read it. It did take him a little while, due to him being totally shocked by the contents, but he did read it. More than once in fact.

It was a very detailed book, he decided. He wasn't sure if he should feel revolted or embarrassed by certain scenes.

Sakura had been right when she had stated, 'having urges,' although, before his feelings for Naruto had been realised, he never had 'urges' but since then, he had wanted to touch the blonde, hold the blonde, kiss the blonde. These thoughts had been disturbing but had grown in appeal. Even so, he had never thought beyond them This book though, had given him thoughts and images involving Naruto which were completely new to him.

Thoughts of sex.

Sasuke shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself. The jolt that had ran through him when he thought of Naruto in one of the positions in the book had scared him slightly, but had felt very pleasurable. Just lately, he had felt a slight throbbing pain in his lower regions that had grown stronger throughout the day. That book had given him a rough idea of what to do to get rid of it, but he was still unsure. He had tried rubbing himself through his trousers, but that had simply caused the problem to escalate and had caused the fabric to tent out slightly and embarrassingly. Since this problem, he hadn't ventured outside. The pain had made walking awkward. The only thing that he had found that worked was an ice cold shower. Well, worked for a little while but as soon as he had spotted the book on his bed, the sexual imaged of Naruto had entered his mind again and the throbbing had started again.

He was becoming frustrated!

He was also going to kill Sakura for doing this to him!

Shifting slightly on his bed, he decided that the only thing he could do was to confront the blonde boy and see if there was a way of removing the problem.

He would go over to his apartment, remove Ino from the vicinity and take out his frustrations on Naruto!

xxxxxxxx

"Let me get this straight," Shikamaru stared at the girl sitting opposite to him. "Sasuke is in love with Naruto. Ino is in love with Naruto. Naruto is dating Ino but has kissed Sasuke."

Sakura nodded.

"You want my help on assessing Naruto's feelings for the two of them?"

Sakura nodded again. Shikamaru sighed.

"This is so bothersome."

They were sitting in the fried beef restaurant. Shikamaru had asked Sakura to join him for dinner, his treat. Sakura had been surprised at the generous offer and had agreed. She would have gone anyway, considering she enjoyed the boys company. Her feelings towards Shikamaru had escalated more and more, ever since she had begun speaking to him and getting to know him properly. He was intellectual and he actually listened to what she had to say. Also, contrary to a lot of people's beliefs, especially Ino's, he was interesting and a lot of fun. This boy had helped her pull away from her childhood crush on Sasuke and opened her to new possibilities.

She wanted to date Shikamaru. She had feeling for Shikamaru.

"I knew you would say that," Sakura leaned over the table slightly, taking care not to burn herself on the small stove between them, "but I really need your help. They are my friends and I don't like them acting like this. Sasuke is obsessed, Naruto is confused and Ino is oblivious. This needs resolving and soon."

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his temple. "Of course I'll help you Sakura, but really, shouldn't they be sorting this out themselves? I mean, none of us are children anymore. We should be able to tell someone that we like them without all the beating around the bush. It's all so tiresome."

Sakura blushed slightly at that. Shikamaru's words felt like a stab at her, even though they were meant for her three friends.

"Anyway, have you finished? If so, I'll ask for the bill."

She nodded and stared at the table as Shikamaru called over the waitress. She wanted to tell him that she liked him. Why? When it had been so easy showing Sasuke that she liked him all of the time, could she not do the same with Shikamaru?

"Shall we go?"

Sakura looked up and saw Shikamaru standing by her seat and holding out a hand for her. Blushing slightly but mustering her resolve, she took hold of it and pulled herself up but didn't release his hand when it loosened. Instead, her grip tightened and her fingers linked with his own.

"Sakura?"

Sakura tightened her grip but still didn't say anything. She wanted to though, but also she wanted for Shikamaru to take the initiative. She heard him sigh next to her, then felt his grip tighten on hers then she was tugged outside and down the street.

They walked in silence for a few moments, a light breeze buffeting them slightly. Sakura's short hair brushed against her down turned face and she lifted it slightly., sneaking a glance at Shikamaru.

He was blushing! It was only slight, a tinge of colour dusting his cheeks, but it was there. Sakura grinned, her confidence in the situation coming back to her slightly and her decision to resolve their own relationship tonight had been cemented.

"Hey Shiki, I have a question." The pet name slipped from her mouth easily and she watched as the boy's blush grew more pronounced.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked quietly.

"Why haven't you kissed me yet?"

The question was so blunt and so direct, that Sakura was surprised at herself for asking it. Even so, she didn't take her eyes from the boy next to her. Shikamaru stopped walking and the grip on her hand lessened.

"Wh… What?" The blush on the boys cheeks had flared and it was very obvious now that the boy was nervous.

Sakura smiled and lifted the hand that wasn't gripping Shikamaru's up to the boys face. She was shaking with nerves and her hands were trembling but she was determined.

"Are you ever going to kiss me?" she asked again, gently running her fingers over the boys cheek. It continued upwards, into his hair and behind his head. She liked how he was taller than her. Liked how she had to pull down his non resisting head so that he was at eye level. "Look at me."

Shikamaru's eyes, which had been steadily avoiding hers, slowly moved until they were looking directly into her own and her smile grew.

"Are you?" she asked again.

Her nervousness and thoughts were all banished away as finally, Shikamaru closed the gap between then and pressed their lips together.

xxxxxxxx

Delicious smells were wafting into the sitting room from the direction of the kitchen and Naruto was politely trying not to let his mouth water in anticipation. He was sitting in the Yamanaka household, playing Shogi with Ino's younger brother, loosing badly. Ino herself was in the kitchen helping her mother with the cooking and her father was out on patrol. (He had left not ten minutes earlier, after a drink and a serious chat with the blonde.)

He had been very relieved to discover that Ino hadn't disappeared on him. All she had done, she explained when she came back to his apartment the same evening Naruto found he missing, was move back into her parents house. She had resolved her differences with them and had missed them. It was also to give himback his space. She told him that she felt guilty for practically re-arranging his home to suit her tastes.

In a way, Naruto was extremely grateful. He had needed to think about things after the scenario with Sasuke and having Ino there would have made him loose his focus.

He was still confused. That much was certain. With his own feelings due to Sasuke's advances and Sasuke's advances themselves. The only thing that he was sure of, was that no matter what, he wouldn't hurt Ino. He absolutely refused to do that. If that meant that he had to lock away his confused emotions and never study them, so be it.

Ino had been the first person to truly acknowledge him, for him. Not as the bottom of the class, the class clown or a monster. In doing so, she had stripped away her selfish and uppity attitude and became herself. She had changed and he had opened up to her.

Although to be fair, he had opened up to Sasuke long before Ino and he had actually told Sasuke about the monster within. Ino had found out, not been told.

The other problem was, Sasuke was a guy! He couldn't be in a relationship with another guy, could he?

"Makoto," he heard Ino call out from the direction of the kitchen. "Will you come and set the table please?"

"Coming," Makoto placed a game piece on the board, finishing off the game and winning spectacularly, then left the room.

Naruto stared blankly at the game board for a few seconds, then sighed and scratched the back of his head.. He then stood up ans slowly headed in the same direction that Ino's little brother had taken, to where he could hear muffled voices.

Ever since he had entered Ino's home, he had felt slightly uncomfortable. Both Ino's parents had been pleasant and welcoming, both taking the time to ask him how he was and how training was going but he still felt like tolerated intruder. The only one who he had felt confortable with was Makoto. The little boy had practically hung off his arm from the moment he had stepped through the front door, asking him questions with a big smile.

"Ino dear, could you pass the salt?" Naruto heard Ino's mother ask. He was now standing outside the kitchen door, debating on whether or not to go in.

"Sure," was Ino's reply, then, "mother. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can."

Ino sounded hesitant. "Why are you giving Naruto the third degree? I mean, I could see him squirming slightly while he was talking to Dad. I thought you said you would make him feel welcome."

Naruto stiffened. Ino had noticed him doing that?

"I thought that was obvious dear. We are simply trying to get to know your boyfriend. We would have done the same to any boy you brought home. I wasn't trying to be nasty or make him feel like he wasn't welcome here. In fact, I found him to be quite charming."

Naruto heard Ino sigh and he copied the gesture.

"Makoto seems to like him too."

"Of course," he then heard Makoto's voice. "Naruto nee-chan is fun and nice. Can we invite him over again after today? Please?"

"Ask him if you want," Naruto heard the smile in Ino's mothers voice, "he's just outside the door!"

Naruto jumped in horror and blushed bright red, then pushed the kitchen door open to see three gazes on him. One shocked, one amused and one happy.

"Naruto nee-chan," Makoto ran over to him. "Did you hear? Will you come over again?"

Naruto looked sheepishly over to Ino's mother, who had a large smile on her face. "Well, that's up to your family."

"Mother?" Makoto asked beseechingly. His Mothers smile widened. "If he wants to, he is very welcome."

Naruto nodded down at the little boy, who cheered and then went back to his task of setting the table. Naruto looked over at Ino's mother, who was still grinning away. "Yamanaka-san.."

"Call me Arie, Naruto-kun."

"Arie-san. Are sure this is okay?" Naruto's voice shook slightly, "I mean, you just caught me eavesdropping and…"

"It's okay, Naruto-kun." Arie grin gentled. Come and sit down and we'll dish up."

The evening passed pleasantly. Talk at the dinner table was boisterous, with laughter and badly told jokes, then after dinner games and drinks occurred, until Naruto decided that it was time he went home.

"I want to see you at our dinner table at least a couple of times a week," Arie told him, while pushing a food pack into his arms. "I mean it. I'll get Ino to drag you here if I have to." She then surprised the blonde haired boy by dropping a kiss onto his cheek. "Goodnight, Naruto-kun."

Makoto gave him one last hug, before being ushered upstairs. Ino walked him to the door and stood by him as he pushed his feet into his shoes.

"Was it okay?" was Ino's blunt question when he had finished. "I mean, you didn't feel too uncomfortable, did you?"

"Not at all," Naruto reassured her with a smile. "I had fun Ino-chan. Thanks for inviting me."

Ino leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck. She pressed her lips against his and initiated the kiss by pushing her tongue into Naruto's mouth. After a few seconds of frozen surprise, Naruto closed his eyes and kissed back, wrapping his arms around Ino's waist.

It felt wrong! It shouldn't have, but it did. The sensation, the taste, the fragrance and the presence. It just all felt wrong. The kiss itself was nice, warm, sweet and gentle. He loved Ino. He really did. He silently cussed at Sasuke for confusing him like this.

Ino pulled away first and smiled at him, not sensing anything amiss. Naruto back at her and gave her a gentle hug, then whispered goodnight and left the house.

He took the long route back to his apartment, thoughts spinning in his head. Why did he feel like this? Why had Sasuke done this to him? What was going on? He kicked a stone and watched it spin down the road and break against a wall He shouldn't feel this way about Sasuke. He had Ino. He was happy. Why did this have to happen to him? The familiar headache was back, only lightly but enough to make his already jumbled thoughts confuse him even more.

A few minutes later, he arrived at his apartment building and climbed the stairs to his floor, fumbling in his pocket for his key. In his moment of distraction, he missed the presence and Chakra signal from next to him until he had opened his door. When it had finally registered that 'someone' was standing beside him, he turned quickly to see the source of all of his confusion, leaning on the wall with his arms folded.

"Sasuke!"

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yurathewicked, coriander, Linneh, MeMe, waffles, powder07blossom, Becki, KinkySweetheart, DogDemonChick, iyfanatic, rabid butterfly, Sailor Epyon, Kichi Hisaki, Sierra Falls, Nissie, Rubymoon17, DeathIsntTheEnd, IcySapphire15, Rikouchan, Shadow-Kitsune67, angelic lily, Hitomi No Ryu, M-python-girl, windchaser90, Sentai, EviL Duckie XD, Sin

I want to thank all of you for your reviews and for taking the time to read this story. Also, I would like to apologise again for how long it has taken me to update. I growl at myself!

Anyway, next chapter is gonna be good! (Insert twisted grin and evil laughter.) I mean, If I can write it. Keep an eye out.

Anyway, please add a little comment for me. I appreciate all but flames

Rie

xx


	15. Emotional Showdown Part 2

There is not much I can say, apart from, I AM SO SORRY! I really am. I have no excuses. I am just a lazy bum!

I send my love out to everyone who has reviewed and I do hope you are all still reading this. Please forgive me if I do not mention names this time. There is too many.

I hope you all like this chapter. I did struggle but finished it in the end. Enjoy

As usual, I do not own this franchise, besides, all my drawings look like stick people!

**An Interwoven Web Of Deceit**

**Emotional Showdown - Part 2**

He hadn't expected to arrive at the blonde Dobe's apartment to find it empty. If anything, he expected to find Naruto and Yamanaka sitting down for dinner or something else equally domesticated. He growled in frustration and leaned against the wall beside the doorframe, preparing himself for a wait.

What was he planning on doing? How was he supposed to get Yamanaka out of the picture so that he could have a serious conversation with Naruto without her interruptions? He wasn't sure but first, he needed to see the other boy.

Sasuke hoped that he wouldn't be standing there for long. It was already dark, the sun having set a couple of hours ago. As such, it was already beginning to grow cold. Dressed as he was in his black shorts and top, he wasn't wearing the warmest of clothes to be standing outside someone's home for an indefinite period of time.

Fortunately, he heard footsteps on the stairs a few minutes later and a blonde head came into view at the end of the corridor. His presence made Sasuke's heart skip slightly. Naruto wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings until he had opened his door. It was only then that he looked up.

"Sasuke."

Said boy lifted himself from the wall that he was leaning against and smirked, his arms folded in front of himself.

"Naruto."

The blonde looked slightly distracted, he decided, although not as much as he did a few moments ago while was trying to unlock his door. Naruto's face had worn a concentrated frown. Now, he looked slightly worried.

"What do you want?" Naruto didn't go into his apartment, but the door stayed propped open by his foot. Sasuke took this opportunity to duck past him and enter the apartment.

From inside, he watched as the blonde sighed and let his shoulders drop. "Come in," was mumbled and then he walked in himself, pulling the door closed behind himself.

"Nice greeting," Sasuke replied when Naruto left the door. "Do you give all of your guests the same attitude?" He sat down on the sofa.

"No. I treat guests in a welcoming way. It's the uninvited guests that get the attitude." Naruto stomped past him in the direction of the kitchen. He was holding his head, Sasuke noted, in the same way as before but this time he wasn't complaining about the pain.

"Where's Yamanaka?" He didn't think that he would be asking that question, considering that he had assumed that the girl was here when he had arrived but curiosity had won out.

"She's at home. Why?" Naruto's voice came from the kitchen. "Do you want a drink?"

"I was just wondering." Sasuke relaxed on the sofa, leaning back into the cushions, "and no."

Naruto came out of his kitchen with a glass of water in his hand, which he placed on the table. He then perched himself on the arm of the sofa and stared at the wall.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

."So why are you acting so stand offish then?" Naruto was definitely avoiding his gaze and was sitting as far away from him on the small sofa as was possible.

"I'm not," As he spoke, Naruto edged away a little more, an impressive feat as he was already right on the very edge of the arm. Sasuke sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Well. Anyway, we need to talk."

"Talk? About what?" Naruto leaned forward and picked up his glass, then he took a sip from it.

"About what happened a few days ago, on the tapestry corridor."

Naruto had been in the process of placing his glass back onto the table when Sasuke said this. At his words, the glass slipped from his grasp and hit the table. Fortunately it was only a few centimetres from the surface so it only made a heavy cracking sound and water splashed onto the table. The glass itself remained intact.

As Naruto cursed, Sasuke smirked.

"Nothing happened," Naruto finally muttered. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" The smirk left Sasuke's face. What was Naruto saying. "How did nothing occur? Explain that to me Dobe, as it seems that I'm missing something here." He noticed that his tone had gone cold.

"It was an accident, that's all," Naruto's eyes were hidden by his fringe. "Just like when we first became Genin and that boy pushed me into you. It was nothing."

Sasuke was becoming pissed. Naruto's denial had not been expected. Confusion, yes. Anger, certainly, but not denial.

"An accident." The words were spoken but not as a question. "You think that it was just an accident." Sasuke's voice was calm and steady, completely the opposite to his turbulent thoughts. "The fact that I kissed you, intentionally and that you returned it enthusiastically seems to have slipped your mind."

"Sasuke…"

"It was no accident," Sasuke's voice raised slightly. "Why are you denying it?"

"It…"

"Why?"

"IT'S BECAUSE I REFUSE TO HURT INO!" Naruto yelled. He had jumped to his feet and was now glaring back at Sasuke. "I REFUSE." His tone lowered and the volume went back to normal. "I will not upset her. She has done so much for me."

Sasuke didn't move from his seat as he stared up at the enraged blonde. He wasn't sure what to think. Where he understood that the blonde felt something for Yamanaka, he didn't understand his need to protect her feelings over his own.

"So, you're going to continue to lie to her?" was his question. "Continue this farce? Don't you think she will be hurt more if she finds out that you have been lying to her? Lying about your feelings?"

"She won't," Naruto sat back down, albeit, this time he sat on the sofa, on the cushions, instead of on the arm. His shaky fingers picked up his glass of water again and took a couple of gulps. "I'm not lying to her." The glass was placed onto the table again, steadily this time. "I love Ino. I really do!"

"You care about her, yes but you don't love her." Sasuke stared at the other boy in frustration. He was not getting through to him at all.

"I do. I love her."

Okay, it was stubbornness more than anything else.

"You are not 'in love' with her." Sasuke started pulling at his hair in frustration.

"I am."

Growling, Sasuke grabbed the blonde boy by his shoulders and pulled him forward against him. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest and the tightening that he had been feeling in his lower body all day became even more pronounced as he pulled Naruto practically onto his lap and pressed their bodies together.

"You're not." Sasuke's arm circled Naruto's waist, bringing the other boy to straddle his hips. Naruto, in his stubborn state, didn't realise his predicament until Sasuke had threaded his other hand through golden strands of hair.

"S… Sasuke. What are you doing?" Naruto's eyes widened and his hands found Sasuke's shoulders and gripped them tightly.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Sasuke whispered, bringing their faces together, close enough so their breath mingled. "I'm going to kiss you thoroughly until you understand what I am saying. I am going to kiss you until I get rid of your denial." As he watched, Naruto's face turned bright red.

"But… But…"

Sasuke moved forwards and gently pressed his lips to Naruto's, his hold on him tightening slightly. It was a simple lip on lip contact. Sasuke was waiting for the smallest encouragement from the blonde although he was only just holding himself back.

Naruto moved in his lap slightly and this small movement pressed their already close hips together. Naruto let out a small gasp and also caused Sasuke's already strained control to snap and he began to lap at Naruto's lips, attempting to open them.. When his request was granted, he increased the pressure on Naruto's lips and thrust his tongue into the moist cavern, cool from the water that Naruto had drunk. He heard and felt Naruto groan and his lips curved upwards into a smirk. It seemed he had found the perfect way of shutting Naruto up.

"How can you deny this?" Sasuke left Naruto's mouth and began to gently press kisses across Naruto's cheek and then he slowly licked across the black lines which adorned them, tracing them. "How can you say to me, that you feel the same when you are with Yamanaka as you do when you are with me?"

Naruto's eyes opened and he stared back. His pupils had grown larger during the kiss and Sasuke's breath stilled.

"Sasuke, I…"

Sasuke covered Naruto's mouth with his own again and tilted him backwards so that Naruto was on his back on the sofa, Sasuke leaning over him.

----

Naruto was feeling a flood of emotions wash through him, making his heart pound at an alarming rate. The idea of making Sasuke stop his actions was a foreign concept not understood by his body. Every small movement made by Sasuke made his breathing harsher and every brush of groin against groin made him want more. Even as part of his mind was screaming at him to push the other boy away, the other half, the one that controlled his actions, ignored the noise and happily participated in the kissing. As Sasuke lowered him so that he was laying across the sofa, his hands left Sasuke's shoulders and instead, wound themselves around his neck.

He knew he shouldn't be doing this. Knew he should push the other boy away from him, but his limbs were not listening to his doubts, and when Sasuke shook his arms away from his neck and pulled his jacket down slightly, pinning his upper arms to his body and began nibbling on his exposed skin, Naruto realised that he was trapped.

Naruto began to twist himself around, trying to free his trapped arms. With Sasuke's hands on his waist and is face pressed into his neck, it was practically an impossible feat.

"Sasuke," he panted. "My jacket."

"What about it?" Sasuke breathed into his skin, making him shudder.

"It's… It's in the way."

Sasuke moved his head until he was staring into Naruto's eyes. "In the way?" he asked. "Does that mean…"

Naruto could have sworn that he saw Sasuke's eyes lighten up.

"…that you'll let me…"

The question remained unasked as Sasuke pressed his lips to Naruto's again and pulled down the zip on the blonde boy's jacket. Once undone, Sasuke pulled the sleeves down further so that he could remove Naruto's arms.

His arms finally free, Naruto had the means of grabbing the other boy push him away from himself. In reality, he grabbed Sasuke but the intended pushing away was halted as slightly cold hands pressed against his hot stomach under his shirt.

Naruto hissed through his trapped lips and his body jolted upwards into the touch, once again pressing his groin to Sasuke's. This action caused Sasuke to release Naruto's mouth and let out a groan. Naruto fought the urge to groan himself, instead, he pressed his face into Sasuke's shoulder, riding out the tremors in his body.

He had long stopped denying what he felt for Sasuke. He couldn't stop his body from responding to every touch, even though, at the back of his mind he knew he shouldn't actually be doing this. He also didn't understand why certain parts of his body reacted stronger than others to Sasuke's touch.

Sasuke had been right though. Ino never made him feel even remotely like this. His trousers had been feeling tighter than usual, ever since Sasuke had begun kissing him and now he could feel his erection straining them to a constricting point. So when he felt a hand that was not his press down on it over his trousers, he choked and pushed upwards on Sasuke's waist, trying to push him away. The sensation was too much. He was on overload.

"W… Wait," he panted

"Can't wait," Sasuke undid the buttons under his hand and then slowly slid his fingers under the waistband of Naruto's underwear, stroking downwards until he touched the rigid hardness of Naruto's erection.

Naruto's hips pushed upwards and he gasped loudly, his eyes rolling back in his head. He had never felt anything like this before. The heat and the friction. The attentions of another. It was all becoming too much.

In his haze, he noted that Sasuke had begun fumbling with his own trousers using his free hand.

"Wha… What?"

"Shh," Sasuke's lips pressed gently against his in small kisses. A few moments later, he felt his trousers being slid down past his hips, exposing him to Sasuke. He then felt a heated hardness begin rubbing against him.

Crying out, Naruto slammed his head back over the edge of the sofa. His eyes were wide and he stared at the upside down view of his living room, without actually seeing it.

"Na… Naruto," he vaguely heard Sasuke whimper from the area of his neck and only duly registered the fact that he was then being bitten.

He gripped onto Sasuke's shoulders and hung on, riding out the sensations of being ground into the sofa. The heat was building up, caused by the rough friction. It was slightly painful due to the dry rubbing but, even though he had been protesting the entire time, Naruto didn't want Sasuke to stop.

xxxx

Sasuke couldn't breathe.

It was next to unbelievable. He had Naruto, spread out on the sofa before him, clinging to his shoulders with his trousers open with himself rubbing against him. He hadn't meant to go this far, only kissing Naruto, getting him to see sense and maybe a little bit more. The scenario he found himself in now was a little bit fast. With no experience, no teachings and only a little orange books information to go by, Sasuke decided that he was actually doing rather well.

Rubbing his freed erection against Naruto's, Sasuke sucked on his collar bone, suppressing his groans. Naruto was more vocal, gasping and panting, squeezing on his shoulders at certain moments.

The tingling urgency that had been bothering him all day had grown to the point where felt that he would die if they stopped. At first, rubbing against the others erection had been slightly rough, but had grown damper and slick the longer it continued.

"I… I can't…" Naruto panted out. "Sasuke."

The hands on his shoulders tightened their grip ad Naruto suddenly bucked upwards, his back arching and his head pushing backwards. He cried out, nearly a scream, it was so high pitched. Sasuke was treated to Naruto's face flushed with pleasure, his lips trembling and mouth open. He then felt himself being pushed over the edge as he mashed his mouth against Naruto's, muffling out his cry.

When the whiteness in front of his eyes from when he came had lessened to the point where he could see again, he found himself still laying on Naruto, head pressed underneath the other boys chin and his arms circling Naruto's waist. Naruto himself had released his shoulders and was just laying on the sofa with his eyes closed.

"N… Naruto?"

There was no response from the blonde. Sasuke lifted his head and noted the sleeping face of the blonde Dobe, relaxed. Sasuke grinned and lay his head back down on the other boys chest, exhaustion from the recent activities and lack of sleep washing over him.

xxxx

Okay. I tried. I really did. I've never been very good at scenes with a more sexual nature. When I proof read hem, it all sounds silly. Oh well.

Please, give me a quick review and tell me what you thought of it. All of your reviews inspire me to write more

See you next chapter

Rie

xx


	16. The Key To Understanding

Well, finally I have completed another chapter. If I moved any slower on them, I would be going backwards! I'm so sorry, but just to reassure all, I will finish this story if it kills me!

To:

Nocena T. Calamus Sailor Epyon makenzi Raixal Uchiha Kichi Hisaki chika Flaming Beauty ariana716 thuyhy-thuyhy YumiAngel jnarusasuc Heidi rose wendyghost KSora rei mE losthimagain Jolene crazygrl3568 Mija and to everyone else who has reviewed this story. Thank you so much and please do not give up on this story. I will keep working on it until it is finished.

Okay, I should have wrote this a while ago, but this story is AP or alternative plotline. There will be no Sai, because I have yet to read about him.

I do not own Naruto. Do you think that publishers would accept my slacking off? I think not!

Okay:

**AN INTERWOVERN WEB OF DECEIT**

**Chapter 16 - The Key To Understanding**

"Why didn't I evah realise it before? All boys 'r pigs!"

The black haired girl staggered down the street, every now and then grabbing onto the walls for support. "I mean, he never noticed me. Not once." She hiccupped. "S'not fair."

Kiba sighed. He didn't need this, not tonight. He and Shino had been training until late without Akimaru and on the way back, were called over by a slightly worried Tenten. She pulled them over to their slightly smaller team-mate who was sitting on the bridge in the hot spring district, six empty bottles of sake sitting around her. Alcohol, it seemed, brought out the worst in her. She had been muttering and cussing, calling Ino some atrocious names, then sobbed onto Kiba's shoulder when he had lifted her up. Now he was escorting her home, (escorting being a loose definition of what he was actually doing. More like following her and making sure that she didn't trip up and fall on her face,) with Shino on her other side, expressionless as usual.

"Kiba-kuuuuun," Hinata whined out, twisting her staggering body around and throwing herself into Kiba's path, forcing him to catch her before she fell onto the floor. "Why? M I not pretty enough? What's wrong wiv me?"

Kiba winced. The girl stank of sake, overloading his sensitive nose and nearly making him gag.

At any other time, Kiba would have happily held the girl and comforted her, due to the crush he had on her. Even though, after he had blushingly confessed his feelings and she had gently let him down, explaining about her feelings for someone else, he had still cared for her.

"Note to self," Kiba muttered as Shino helped pry the inebriated girl from him, "Hinata and alcohol do not mix."

He heard a grunt from Shino, agreement Kiba figured. Hinata now had both arms draped around Shino and her face was nestled close to his neck. Kiba suddenly felt a pang of irrational jealousy.

"Why?" Hinata asked again, quieter this time. Kiba sighed again.

"I don't know," he loosened one of her arms from around Shino and placed it around his own neck. This way, they were practically carrying Hinata along the street between them, her feet only just touching the floor.

"So, what's your plan when we get her home?" was Shino's question when the Hyuuga residence came into view through the trees. Kiba stopped, pulling Shino and a now dozing Hinata to a halt as well.

"Erm, well," Kiba looked away.

"You _are _going to take her in?"

"About that…"

Kiba saw Shino's eyebrows raise behind his glasses.

"Don't tell me you were thinking of dumping her outside the door, then doing a runner?"

"Of course not," he winced when he realised that his voice came out slightly louder that usual. Actually, that had been his plan. A kind of dump and run, but hearing it from Shino directly, made it sound slightly wrong.

"Why is it I do not believe that?"

"Believe what you want," Kiba resumed his walking. "I just don't want to be spotted by Hyuuga Neji and have him automatically think that it was us that caused her to be in this state."

"A grunt came from Shino, then silence resumed between them.

The Hyuuga complex was very intimidating to say the least. The gates at the front of the estate were tall and were made of cast black iron with a slight verdigris finish. The gates were connected to a high wall with pedestal lanterns spaced out on certain pillars.

The unlocked gates were pushed open to a lush green lawn and a smooth path leading up to a largely imposing mansion house. That house, Kiba remembered, wasn't where the main family lived. The branch family owned this place.

The House where Neji lived.

"Now look," Kiba stopped a few yards away from the large double front doors. "It's one thing letting Neji see the state of his cousin, but it's entirely different when the rest of her family sees."

"So what do you suggest?"

"Can't we just creep around to the main house?"

Shino stared at him. "And get mistaken for trespassers, or worse, kidnappers?" His usually stoic voice sounded incredulous. "Don't you remember that time years ago when someone tried to kidnap Hinata? No one has ever tried to creep into Hyuuga ground since. Well, except Naruto."

"I guess," Kiba agreed. He crossed his ankles and dropped onto the grass, his momentum pulling Hinata down onto his lap and out of Shino's grasp. "Oh yeah, I remember that. I think Neji nearly had a heart attack when he discovered what Naruto had done, so Hinata said."

"Pink right?"

"Pink and fluffy!"

Kiba covered his mouth when he felt laughter welling up.

The year before, on valentines day, Naruto had been feeling slightly vindictive.

Neji had been slightly condescending due to the fact he had received a lot of cards and chocolate a day early and twice as many on the dreaded day. It might have been because it happened every year that it became the norm. As such, he didn't realise that his male friends supported the little green monster called jealousy. Naruto had never received anything from a girl. (Hinata's disastrous home made chocolate poisoning the year before didn't count.) Hanging around the Uchiha for so long had given him a hatred of dismissive attitudes towards presents. And so, in retaliation of Neji's uncaring response for the gifts he had received, decided to take action. He had asked Hinata to help him and she had gladly purchased a few things that Naruto had been too embarrassed to buy. Naruto had gotten into Neji's room by himself though and had decorated it in so many pink items, such as bears holding hearts, sparkly paper messages, fluffy ribbons and cards, that it would have made anyone gag in horror.

When Neji had entered his room with Hinata purposely in tow, he actually stopped and let out a gasp at the state his living space had become. Hinata had described his facial expression to a tee to Naruto, himself and Shino. Even Shino had cracked a smile.

Although Neji had known it was Naruto almost immediately, he hadn't gotten angry with him, rather he cracked a small smile, shocking everyone that knew him well, especially Tenten and Lee. Naruto just grinned back at him and offered to spar with him and both of them had acted like nothing had happened. Kiba didn't understand how Naruto could be so close to such a closed off guy, like Sasuke in that respect although Neji was slightly more sociable and could actually hold a conversation with you that involved words and not just grunts.

"Well, anyway," Kiba composed himself and looked up at Shino, "what shall we do we do with this little problem?"

"Little problem?"

Kiba started, random swear words coming out of his mouth. Speak of the Devil! Neji had a way of just appearing which drove him up the wall. He turned his head to see Neji standing on the path behind them, arms folded and a questioning look on his face as he stared at his cousin sprawled over his lap. Kiba fought the urge to blush in embarrassment at Hinata's position.

"Um, Neji hi." Kiba shook himself, annoyed at the way his voice was shaking slightly

"Little problem?" Neji asked again. "What little problem?"

"Erm, well." Kiba swallowed and decided to take the plunge. "We found Hinata, drunk in the hot spring district and brought her back, but we didn't want her family seeing her in this state, just in case she got in trouble, hence, little problem."

Neji just continued to stare at him, causing Kiba to shake with nervous tremors. They stopped immediately when he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Shino.

Neji raised an eyebrow and Kiba watched as a corner of his mouth raised slightly into a smirk.

"So, you're saying that you have nothing to do with the state she's in?"

"Exactly that."

Hinata began moving in his arms, obviously waking up from her light sleep and she sat up, rubbing at her eyes.

"Neji-niisan?"

"Yes, it's me." To Kiba's surprise, his voice gentled. "Are you okay?"

"I think I'm going to be sick!"

Kiba blanched and edged away from the kneeling girl, bumping into Shino's legs in the process. Neji gave him a dark look, then hoisted Hinata to her feet, grasping her under her arms so that she was supported slightly, but swaying and holding onto his arm.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Neji muttered, pulling the half comatose girl with him down the path and past Shino and Kiba. He opened up the large front doors, pulled Hinata inside and then closed them firmly.

"Rude asshole," Kiba muttered, standing up and brushing his knees with his hands. "We bring back his drunk cousin and all we got in thanks was a door slammed in our faces."

"Did you really expect something else?" Shino asked with a surprised tone, "You, who was considering just leaving her on the porch."

"Shut up," was Kiba's grumbling reply. He thrust his hands into his pockets and began walking up the drive back towards the gates, Shino a few steps behind him. Upon reaching said gates, he stopped and turned to his team-mate. "Hey Shino, I have a question."

"Nice for you!"

Kiba scowled, but continued anyway. "Can cousins marry?"

Shino's eyes raised behind his glasses at the strange question.

"I don't think there is a problem with that. If you mean the Hyuuga's, it's likely they have in the past to keep the bloodlines strong. Why are you asking this?"

"No reason," Kiba turned back around and opened the gate. "It just occurred to me. Neji is really close to Hinata. He might get forced to marry her in a few years." He was surprised, but it didn't actually bother him as much as he thought it would. He was jealous of Shino being close to Hinata, but not Neji, who was much closer to her than either of them. He wasn't sure what that was about.

"Would that be a problem?"

"Only if it was something that Hinata didn't want. If she did, I would be happy for her."

Kiba held open the gate, letting Shino pass through the gap, then let it swing shut with a clang. Shino reached out a hand and patted him on the head.

"Awww, Kiba-kun is finally growing up!"

As Shino turned away and began moving down the street, Kiba felt his mouth drop in astonishment. Did Shino just tease him without any nasty comment? "Oi, Shino," Kiba ran after the retreating boy, "wait up. What was that about? I am grown up you bastard!"

Shino didn't acknowledge his yell, instead he just kept on walking. Letting Kiba flail behind him.

It wasn't every day that you saw Uzumaki Naruto sprinting down the road as if the hounds of Hell were after him, but that was exactly what Neji saw as he was taking an early morning stroll through the village. As far as the Hyuuga could remember, he had never seen Naruto panic in such a fashion. From what he saw, before the orange blur was past him, Naruto's face was pale and his eyes were in a shocked expression.

It was these reasons that Neji decided to follow the blonde's chakra signature through the village to the other boys hiding place.

The sun was still rising, causing a bright golden glare to tickle the rocky ground at a slow and gentle pace. The light bounced off some of the jagged edges, reflecting into the eyes and restricted vision.

Neji was not so impaired, his eyes being some of the best in the village. Because of this fact, he was treated to a truly breathtaking sight.

The said blonde had perched himself on top of the Hokage monument at the edge of the cliff, one leg hanging over the precipice, the other perched next to him so that he was leaning his chin on his knee. He was staring out over the expanse of the village, looking lost in thought. The expression on his face was pensive and thoughtful instead of the beaming grin he always sported. The sunlight caught his hair, making the golden strands sparkle in the light.

Naruto looked ethereally beautiful.

"What is it Neji?" Naruto asked without turning his head.

Neji wasn't surprised that he had been spotted. It wasn't like he had crept after the other boy.

"I just wondered what the rush was."

"I wasn't rushing. I was just out for a morning jog."

"Mmm hmm." Neji wasn't convinced.

"No, really."

Naruto wouldn't look at him. Even when Neji perched himself on the cliff edge next to the blonde, Naruto kept his eyes firmly averted.

"So, what's the problem?" Neji edged himself closer to the other boy until his hip touched the side of Naruto's leg, "and don't say 'nothing' and expect me to believe it," he muttered when Naruto opened his mouth. "I know well enough to know when you are lying."

Naruto sighed and ducked his head slightly.

"What would you do," he began hesitantly, "If three people decided that they liked you? More that friends I mean."

Neji raised an eyebrow. Three? Yamanaka Ino everyone knew about, but the other two…? "Who?"

Naruto waved a hand in dismissal. "That's not important. What would you do? I mean, they've all confessed…"

"Who?" Neji didn't mean to growl it out. It just happened. Naruto finally looked up at him, a questioning expression on his face.

"Why, what's wrong?"

Neji silently cussed himself for letting his emotions show so easily, but it always seemed to happen while around Naruto. "Nothing," he replied shortly, "I was just curious. Why won't you tell me?"

Naruto sighed and stared back out over the village. "Alright, I'll tell you. It was Gaara and Sasuke."

Neji nearly growled again. Gaara? Sasuke he had already guessed liked Naruto in more than a platonic way but Gaara. That was strange. The red haired ninja from Sand was, from what he had briefly seen, very introverted, so for him to voice emotions was too strange for him to comprehend.

Sasuke though, was quite problematic.

"I'm not sure what to think," Naruto continued. "I mean, ever since I began getting headaches, everyone has been acting strange."

"Strange?"

"Ino for starters." Naruto leaned back on his hands and stared upwards at the sky. "I mean, since I've known her, at most, I've probably spoken no more than a handful of words to her and most of those words weren't actually pleasant. Now, we're dating on her request and I now have been introduced to her entire family."

Neji started and stared at the other boy in shock. Wasn't that a little fast?

"When I started dating her." Naruto continued, "Sasuke began acting angry all of he time and also started to be a right asshole to Ino. Before, he practically ignored her existence. Then Gaara practically jumps me in an alley and tells me that he has liked me for ages." Naruto groaned. "And what makes it worse is that they are both guys. Everyone's gone potty!"

They sat silently. Naruto continued to stare out over the village. Neji stared down at his hands. It was obvious that Naruto wouldn't appreciate another confession at this point in time and Neji was nothing but patient. He had waited since after the original Chunin exams so could wait longer.

Movement from the other boy made Neji look up again. Naruto had his hand on his forehead, above his right eye. No sounds were made but Neji could see the skin around his eye twitching in a spasm.

"Are you okay?" Neji asked, moving closer to Naruto. "Does your head hurt?" He was quite willing to change the subject after getting the answer of what was wrong with Naruto. The last thing he wanted was to be asked advice on how to deal with the problem, especially as it would be hard for him not to give negative advice.

Naruto made a small motion with his head in the form of a nod. "A bit. It began hurting again recently."

"Is it in the same place as before?"

Another nod.

Slowly, cautiously, Neji raised his hand towards Naruto's right temple and touched the skin above the eye, just under where Naruto had his own hand.

"Byakugan."

As before, he used his ability to see Naruto's chakra channels and as before, there was a leak of chakra above his eye, just between his fingers. The escaping stream was only a small trickle, nothing like the last time he had seen it, but the main fact was, it shouldn't be there.

"Didn't the Hokage heal you from the last time this happened? Neji circled his thumb over the area, trying to sooth the pain. He was so close to the other boy that his scent was strong. He smelt of the outdoors, a fresh woodsy smell with a hint of flora. A fragrance that begged you to draw nearer to sample it in more detail.

Naruto's eyes were nearly closed, his head tilted sideways. His own hand had slipped from his forehead and now they both clenched each other in his lap. "I'm not sure why it's hurting again. It just started up a few days ago."

"Have you been feeling strangely tired recently."

"No, not really." Naruto moved his head away from Neji's touch. "I feel the same, apart from the headaches. I think I'll go and see Tsunade bachan later."

Neji let his hand drop and turned his head away from the blonde boy. "I think that would be a good idea. It's not a good thing to have a chakra leak." He was grateful that Naruto had moved away on his own accord.

Naruto nodded, then stood up and stretched. "Thanks Neji. I feel better now that someone else knows what is going on, but I'm sorry to be lying it all down on you like that."

"No problem. I did ask."

Silence resumed for a few more moments before Naruto turned to Neji again, his arms crossed behind his head.

"I never asked, but how have you been lately? I've hardly seen you and I know that in some way, it's been because of my dating Ino"

"Fine. I've done a lot of training. Both Hinata and I have been working hard."

"How is Hinata?" A genuinely interested question.

"She's suffering from a hangover at the moment." Neji didn't usually enjoy laughing at others misfortunes but he had to laugh at his cousin.

"Huh?"

A smirk appeared on Neji's face.

"It seems she stole a couple of bottles of Sake from her father and drunk herself into a stupor. She was found on the bridge of the hot springs district, sobbing her woes. Kiba and Shino brought her back." What he didn't tell Naruto was that Hinata, after Neji had placed her into her room, had immediately gone to her dresser, grabbed her hairbrush and sat down in front of the mirror. The had then proceeded to talk to herself in a strangely flirty way, as if she was having a conversation with Naruto. The sight had been very amusing but also slightly scary.

Naruto stared back at him, a questioning look on his face. "Does Hinata usually drink that much?"

"Not at all, to be honest. She never touches the stuff," Neji slowly stood up, his gaze fixed on the village. "That's probably why it went straight to her head."

Naruto stood up beside him and stretched, arms reaching upwards above his head. "Hmmm," he mumbled, "maybe I should go and see how she is. I haven't spoken to her in awhile."

"I wouldn't advise it at the moment," Neji ever so slightly winced. "I'm sure she's not up to receiving visitors at the moment. You're best bet is to try later." The last straw would be Naruto visiting Hinata when she felt like crap from over drinking, felt guilty for bad mouthing the blonde albeit not to his face and also when she felt confident enough to confess her feelings. The latter would just set Naruto off in a downward spiral. He had enough problems, it seemed, without the two Huuga adding to them at the worst possible time

"Hey Neji, wanna spar then?" Naruto leaned down from the waist so he was staring at Neji's seated form, from a nearly upside down position. At that angle, Naruto's orange jacket (he was wearing it open) had slid slightly off his shoulder, pulling his black t-shirt with it and exposing his neck. It was there that Neji spotted a light mark, almost a bruise, almost faded. "Neji?"

Neji blinked, then shook himself from his almost trance. "Sure." He stood up.

"Great," Naruto enthused, "I need to release a bit of tension you know."

Naruto bounded back from the cliff edge, towards the path that led down the mountain. Neji stood for a moment, his gaze on the village.

"I will tell you how I'm feeling Naruto," he murmured quietly. "Maybe not yet but I will." He then followed after the loud blonde, a small smile on his lips.

"You moved out? What do you mean, you moved out?"

Ino took a sip of tea. "Exactly how it sounded."

"But why?"

Sakura sounded confused, Ino decided. Confused and questioning. Beside her, Shikamaru leaned back into the cushions, arms behind his head but he was focused on her, instead of ignoring the conversation.

"Two reasons," Ino put her cup down, "firstly my mother swallowed her idiotic reasoning and actually met Naruto. Secondly, I felt that I was taking up his space. He does, only have a small apartment you know. He needs his 'alone' time just as much as I do."

Sakura leaned back so that she was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Shikamaru. "So, you're not drifting away from him?" Was her question."

Ino stared back at her pink haired friend and the lazy boy opposite her. They were both totally engrossed in the conversation. Which was making her feel slightly suspicious.

"No, I'm not. If anything, I feel we're closer, especially as my family have approved of him."

"And did Naruto get on with them?"

Ino glared. "Yes he did, as a matter of fact. Why the twenty questions?"

"It's just…" Sakura hesitated, looking at Shikamaru for a second before looking back at her. "I don't want you to get hurt Ino. I want you to be happy."

"And why would I get hurt exactly?" her glare intensified. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Geez Ino, get a clue," Shikamaru rolled his eyes at her. "Your best friend wants to make sure that everything is going right for you and you blow up at her."

Ino dropped her gaze. Shikamaru was right, although she wasn't about to admit to it.

"I guess it's because I'm slightly insecure," Ino stared past her two friends at a picture on the wall of a dancing couple. "I've never been in a relationship before so I'm not sure how I should at around Naruto. I mean, he's not very affectionate and he doesn't initiate anything more intimate than hugging." Am I maybe trying to move too fast? Was her thought,.

"Ino," Sakura spoke quietly. "Think about it carefully for a minuite. Naruto has lived alone for practically his whole life. He's been starved of attention for most of that time. It's only natural that he is unsure when actually given that attention. You, me and Sasuke-kun are the closest ones to him, oh and Iruka-sensei."

Ino nodded in understanding. "I guess I hadn't actually thought about that."

Sakura smiled. "You don't have to take any advice from me Ino, but can I give you some anyway?"

Ino nodded. "It doesn't mean that I'll take any of it to heart though," she warned with a grin.

"Understandably," Sakura's smile turned into a returning grin. "Back off and watch him for a while Ino." Her smile had faded and sow a solemn expression graced her features. "Learn to understand what he likes and dislikes. Watch how he interacts with others and how much of himself he show them."

"Will that help our relationship?" Ino was confused.

"It will help you understand him," Sakura corrected, resting her palms on the table. "Understanding each other is a good move in any relationship."

Ino looked away from the picture of the dancing couple and stared back at the two sitting opposite her, suspicion in her eyes.

"Are you speaking from experience here?" was her question. "You two seem to be awfully close."

Sakura gave her a sunny smile and Shikamaru stared back obstinately. They were siing very close together and Ino watched as Shikmaru's hand slid over the table to grasp at one of Sakura's. Her eyes widened.

"You're together?"

Sakura nodded. Shikamaru said and did nothing but continued to stare at her. Ino smiled back hesitantly.

"Wow, I didn't expect that." She didn't. Sakura's Sasuke obsession had hit levels beyond other fan girls and had believed nothing would shake her of the belief that someday her affection would be returned. The relationship with Shikamaru. She hoped for both their sakes that the affection was real on both sides. "I'm happy for you both, really. When did it happen?"

"It was only last night," Sakura's smile widened and she saw Shikamaru's grip on her hand tighten. "After we went out for dinner."

They were a good match, Ino noted. Both were smart, sensible people but both held a mind that seemed to wander off in a tangent. Ino's smile faded slightly. Were herself and Naruto a good match? They didn't really have anything in common apart from both being incredibly stubborn (she wouldn't deny that she was) and they were both good listeners. She wasn't very good at sparing. The only people that Naruto enjoyed doing that with were Sasuke and Neji. Sasuke, Ino knew was the closest person to Naruto and even though he didn't show it, did care for the blonde.

"I've decided to take your advice Sakura," Ino broke out of her musings. "I'll watch his interactions with others to help me understand him."

Sakura nodded at her and Ino stood up with a grin. "I believe I'll leave you with the bill, as a present of course. I hope you don't mind!" As Sakura opened her mouth to protest, Ino spoke again. "I'm going to watch the interactions of Naruto!"

She left the café, intention spread across her face. Her first subject, Uchiha Sasuke!

Okay, there you are. I tried to make it a little longer and I think I succeeded in that.

As usual, please read and tell me what you think. Admittedly, most of these later chapters are the relationship side of the plot, but I promise I'll get to the other side soon. Also, if you see errors, tell me. I know I've missed some.

Rie

xx


	17. The Deceit Partially Identified

I'm probably going to get a lot of abuse for my truly atrocious lack of updates on this story but all I can do is apologise. I'm sure everyone who writes gets writers block at some point an that is what happened with me, along with a severe case of depression. I'm still struggling with it now.

Well. I'm sure none of you want to hear any more excuses so here is the next chapter. I do hope that it is enjoyed. I have partially finished the next chapter too so that really should be up soon.

Another little Sasu/Naru scene going on here.

Read, enjoy and then tell me what you think.

PS I am writing for fun, not profit. I am as broke as broke can be!

**AN INTERWOVEN WEB OF DECEIT **

**Chapter 17 - The Deceit Partially Identified**

Tsunade tapped her fingers on the desk in front of her and glared at the person sitting on the other side of the desk. Neji stared back at her impassively.

"Are you sure of this?"

"Quite sure. He informed me himself about four days ago that he was still experiencing a pain in his head, the same place as before." Neji looked down at his hands. "I checked and saw a leak of chakra above his eye. It seems that what you sealed has re-opened itself.

The Hokage sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I told that brat to get his arse back here if it happened again. I'll have to drag him in."

"If I may ask," Neji sat up straight, "what do you think that this leak could be?"

"Honestly," Tsunade stared back at him, "I don't know, but what I do know is that we need to get it fixed. A chakra drain is dangerous, even for someone with such a large pool of it like Naruto."

He looked decidedly worried, Tsunade observed. It was understandable, considering how close he and Naruto had become in recent years. It seemed that it took his concerned friends to inform her when he had a problem since Naruto was closed mouthed when it came to himself. It was also nice to know that Naruto quite a few people around who cared about his well-being.

"I am assuming he hasn't come to you about this himself yet!"

Tsunade shook her head.

"Then I'm glad that I told you."

What was going on with Naruto? What happened to the boastful, lively blonde who invaded her life, demanding her recognition as the successor to her position. Tsunade was concerned.

"You're dismissed Hyuuga." she nodded at the young man in front of her. Neji stood up and made his way towards the door, but paused when Tsunade spoke again. "Also, if you see Yamanaka Ino on your travels today, could you tell her that I request her presence."

Neji nodded and continued to make his way out of the room. As soon as he had stepped outside, Tsunade turned to Jiraya, ho was standing by the door.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

Tsunade leaned her chin on her hand and stared at the white haired man.

"Look, I know that you know more than your letting on you old pervert so out with it What is going on"

"I don't know." Jiraya turned to look at her. At this moment, I know as much as you do."

A suspicious look was affixed on Tsunade's face and Jiraya stared back questioningly.

"What?"

"You know that I don't believe a word you're saying right?"

"It doesn't matter. It's the truth."

Jiraya walked over to the door and Tsunade growled at him.

"I know that you are hiding something from me old man, so you'd better start spilling the truth. You know what the problem with Naruto is, don't you? I want to know."

"I'm truly sorry Hokage-sama," Jiraya gave a little bow, making Tsunade's mouth drop to the desk in shock, "but I can't tell you anything at this time."

Before she could compose herself, the infuriating man had left her office and the door swung shut behind him. Tsunade growled again and let her forehead hit the desk with a bang.

She was reaching her limit with that man!

xxxxxxxx

Sasuke span on his heel for what felt like the twentieth time that day and glared towards a blonde head that was slightly sticking out from the side of a house.. He had been feeling eyes on him for quite a while now and he was becoming sick of it.

"What is the problem?" Naruto groused, throwing his cup into a bin they were passing. "Why do you keep glaring in random directions?"

Naruto had been steadily avoiding him for the past couple of days, since Sasuke had his way with him in his living room. He was only with him now, because Sakura had dragged the both of them out, with complaints that they never spent time together any more. Sakura herself had been sending him questioning looks throughout the afternoon which he had yet to answer. Naruto, apart from the just asked question, had steadily ignored his presence and had happily conversed with Sakura, much to Sasuke's chagrin. It seemed that Naruto wasn't going to budge out of denial.

"Well?"

Sasuke decided that it was has his turn to do the ignoring and he turned to Sakura.

"How much longer do you intend to drag me around shopping?" he asked with a slight growl behind his words. "It has been five hours since I was dragged out of my house."

"But Sasuke-kun," she grinned back at him," I thought you would enjoy a shopping trip with the person that you like."

Sasuke glared at her and noticed as Naruto gave her a panicked look, then he began to walk faster, moving ahead of them slightly.

"Ino is watching." Sakura's voice was low.

"I noticed," Sasuke replied dryly. "Care to tell me why?"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura put on a voice of exaggerated innocence and outrage of the accused. "Why would you even think that I had anything to do with it?"

Sasuke snorted, which only caused Sakura to grin wider.

"Well, I might have told her that watching Naruto's closest friends would give her sharper insight and help her to understand her boyfriend and what interests him better."

"What?"

"Oh come on Sasuke-kun," Sakura stopped walking and stared at the black haired boy, hands on her hips. "I can't give you an unfair advantage you know. Both you and Ino are my friends."

"No, instead you set her to spying on me, leaving me less opportunities with him," Sasuke growled.

"Which reminds me, what happened between the two of you?" Sakura asked curiously, turning the conversation around 180 degrees. "I don't think I've ever seen him so ignorant of your presence."

Sasuke glared at her and didn't answer, causing an annoyed pout to form on her face.

"Come on Sasuke-kun. Please!"

"Since when have you acted like this?" Sasuke began walking again. Sakura followed behind him, her hands clasped behind her back.

"I've always been this way. It's only you've never seen it before." Sasuke stopped again and Sakura continued to walk past him. "I suppose it is partly my fault, putting on a sweet and innocent false front, hiding myself so I would impress you and get your attention."

In front of them, Naruto had stopped and was looking into a shop window. Sakura continued to walk towards him and Sasuke reluctantly followed.

"Are you going to tell me anything?" she threw over her shoulder.

"No."

"Could you at least tell me if you got further than just kissing him?"

"Yes."

"Yes you can tell me or yes you did?"

"Both."

"Can't you give me more than one word answers?"

"Maybe."

"Grrr." Sakura stomped ahead, leaving Sasuke behind, grinning, but the grin didn't last long as he stared at Naruto. Sakura had caught up with him and was staring intently into the window as well. Things were getting ridiculous. Naruto liked him more than friends. This had been confirmed. Unfortunately he still had Yamanaka to deal with and Sasuke didn't want to incur Naruto's anger by informing the girl that Naruto belonged to him. The best way to deal with that was to let her see for herself.

Sasuke grinned again as he felt Yamanaka's eyes rest on him. This would be interesting.

Naruto was agitated. He had been feeling the same way since he had walked out of his apartment complex that morning at Sakura's summons and found both her and Sasuke waiting for him. He had nearly turned around and went back inside but Sakura had grabbed onto him and berated him for taking so long, but Sasuke had just stared at him, his expression unchanging Throughout the entire shopping expedition, Naruto felt those eyes constantly on him and now, while he was staring into a shop window, leaving both of his ex-team-mates behind talking to each other, he still felt the eyes!

This was the first time that he had actually spent time with Sasuke, since That Night when he had left him asleep on his couch. That Night continued to re-surface in his memories in such a way, that it deserved the capitals. It still caused shivers to run through his body and he had woken up sweating and aroused in the middle of the night from the memory for the past couple of days, even though he could not remember what exactly he had dreamed about. Morning cold showers had been his recent ritual, trying to cool down his strangely overheated body.

He had never felt anything like this before. Sure, he had felt comfortable with Ino and experienced proper kissing through her, (the kiss in the classroom with Sasuke didn't count,) even though it had felt wrong. He didn't actually understand why kissing a girl felt wrong, considering boys and girls kissing each other was correct. In fact, he didn't think kissing with guys was 'all that' either. He had felt nothing when Gaara kissed him, other than shock and embarrassment.

Sasuke was different. Sasuke's kisses were different. That in itself was unsettling.

"What's piqued your interest?"

Sakura placed a hand on his arm and leaned over his shoulder, staring through the glass at what had seemed to have caught his interest. It looked as if she had finished her conversation with Sasuke.

"Nothing much," he sighed. "Just looking." Sakura continued to stare into the glass, looking at his reflection, instead of at the sweets on display.

"Are you okay?"

Naruto stared back at her reflection curiously.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You've been acting strangely lately, even for you."

"I have?"

"You have. Do you want to talk about it?"

Naruto turned to face her directly, instead of her reflection and frowned.

"Talk about what? Sakura-chan, I'm fine. Really, there is nothing wrong with me."

"Is it Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto was in the process of moving away from the shop. At Sakura's words, he nearly tripped over his own feet.

"W… W… What are you asking?" He felt heat begin to infuse his face. Sakura grinned.

"So it was him! So, what did he do?"

"Nothing."

"Liar," Sakura pointed a finger at him, reminiscent of when they did the same thing to Kakashi, "he's done something to you because you wouldn't be reacting like this if he hadn't." She paused and her smirk grew wider. "Did he kiss you?"

"Sakura-chan," Naruto nearly yelled, backing away from the malicious looking pink haired girl, his hands raised in a defensive position, "where are you getting this from?"

"Your reaction." Sakura stalked him, forcing him to move backwards. "He did, didn't he?"

In one way, Naruto was grateful when Sasuke appeared next to Sakura, finally deciding to catch them up although the glare from the black haired boy directed at her was such that it made him shiver slightly.

"Well, I'm done here." Sakura's voice wavered slightly but the smile was still on her face. She leaned towards Naruto and whispered in his ear, "go for it," then skipped away when Sasuke moved forward, muttering about how she needed to see Shikamaru.

Naruto felt heat infuse his face and stared suspiciously after the retreating girl. Did she know something? If so, was she edging him on?

"What did she say?"

Sasuke asked him forcefully, not even watching as Sakura practically ran down the street away from them. Naruto looked up at the other boy to find him standing close. Too close.

"Not much." Naruto turned away and began walking down the street, the opposite direction to the one the pink haired girl had taken. "Just her usual nonsense." He had to get away from him. He didn't trust staying close to the other boy in case he tried something strange again.

"Wait a minute."

Naruto kept walking. He heard Sasuke's footsteps get closer as he began to follow.

"Hey."

"…"

"How much longer are you going to attempt to ignore me?"

Naruto 'attempted to ignore' that question and began to walk faster, reaching the end of the shopping district and turning out onto the wooded path. Sasuke was faster however. Naruto found his arm grabbed and then his back met with a tree after Sasuke had span him around and forced him backwards into the dense woods. His wrists were pinned against the bark on either side of his head by Sasuke's hands. Naruto felt his heart begin to beat faster as the other boy drew his body nearer to his own.

"Goddammit Sasuke," he muttered, glaring over the other boys shoulder, keeping his eyes averted purposely, "what do you think you are doing?"

"Getting your attention," was the reply. Sasuke brought his face closer to Naruto's, then turned so that his breath fell on his cheek, then ear. "I see it worked."

"Okay, you've got my attention, so what do you want?" Naruto tried to growl the question out angrily, but it ended up sounding breathless and slightly husky, something he wasn't going for. "And you can let me go now by the way."

Instead of moving away from him, he felt Sasuke press himself closer, aligning their hips so that they were touching. Naruto couldn't stop a gasp escaping his mouth, especially considering Sasuke had just ran his tongue along the outer shell of his ear.

"It's you I want, so why would I let you go?" Sasuke whispered, then nibbled on his earlobe. Naruto attempted to clench his hands into fists at the sensation, then gasped when he felt a leg slide vertically against his own. "I've already told you this," Sasuke continued, releasing his ear and moved over to his left hand. "It seems that I'll have to tell you again." He re-positioned his own hand on Naruto's wrist, then began to suck at his pulse point, drawing the skin into his mouth

Naruto's knees buckled. At this movement, his wrists were released and instead, Sasuke's arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him towards his body. At the same time, pushing himself forward so that Naruto was still pressed against the tree. Finally finding his hands free, he had the option of attempting to push the other boy away or looping his arms around his neck and pulling him forward. He decided on a compromise against the two, grasping Sasuke's top and holding him in place.

"You've got to stop this Sasuke," Naruto gasped. He felt hands lift his top and then slide against the bare skin against his back.

"Why?" Sasuke breathed against his ear.

"We cant… I'm not… Ino…" Gentle kisses were placed against his jaw, preventing him from putting his argument across.

"You tried this argument before Naruto. It didn't work then. It wont work now."

One of Sasuke's hands slid downwards and slipped inside his trousers and pants, sliding a finger down the cleft of his backside. Naruto bucked upwards at the sensation, his body pressing against Sasuke's, his mouth open in a soundless gasp. Sasuke took this opportunity to slide his tongue into his mouth, bringing to a alt all of Naruto's objections. All he could focus on was the skin on skin contact and the tongue in his mouth. One of his hands gripped Sasuke's shirt tighter while the other slid up until it was buried in black locks. Sasuke's hand on his back tightened its grip around him and his other hand squeezed the flesh it was pressed against, his wayward finger pressing down.

Naruto's inhibitions broke at that moment and he closed his lips slightly and sucked on the intruding tongue. This caused the raven haired boy's grip on him to falter and Naruto used the last of his rational mind to break away and slip out of the slackened grip.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke growled. Naruto fisted a hand in his shirt and panted, nerves frayed to the maximum. Sasuke's eyes were pitch black and glistening, staring at him with a look of such hunger that he audibly gulped.

"No more Sasuke, please." Naruto whispered. His feelings were in a turmoil and he was close to diving back into the other boys arms, girlfriend be damned, he was still so turned on. He couldn't do that to her though. He just couldn't.

"Why do you keep lying to yourself Naruto?" Sasuke leaned back against the tree he was recently pressed against. "You are lying to me and to Yamanaka as well. Is that okay with you? Are you okay with that?"

"I'm not lying to anyone," Naruto whispered.

"You lie every time you push me away. You lie every time you smile while in Yamanaka's presence. You walk around with a mask on every day, showing people how happy you are when you're not. You say that you are happy when you are miserable. Everything you do while performing your act shows one person when in reality you are completely different." Sasuke spoke quietly but Naruto felt the anger in his words. "You are an interwoven web of deceit Naruto and I can see right through you."

"So why bother then?" Naruto raised his voice in frustration. "If you can see the real me, why are you even doing this?"

"Because the real you is the person that I want."

Sasuke moved away from the tree and began to walk back towards the shopping district, not looking back. Naruto watched him go, unmoving from his spot.

"Sasuke…"

Sasuke turned back to him, a half smile on his face. He had his hands in his pockets, the wind blowing slightly, gently sifting through his hair. Naruto felt his heart begin to beat harder at the sight.

"Look Naruto," Sasuke sighed. "I want you and I know that you want me. Sort this problem with Yamanaka out soon because I'm loosing my patience with waiting."

With this, Sasuke turned around and continued walking. Naruto had fallen silent at his last statement. He wasn't sure what to think anymore.

We'll there you are. Please tell me what you thought. Again, any mistakes spotted, tell me and I'll rectify them.

Right, I'm going to watch some of the Naruto Abridged. I need a laugh.

Rie

xx


	18. Finding Out And Understanding Yourself

twilight gonrie NeverGoneJustUnoticed lazykunoichi Nuriel Nomme de Plume MeMe

Leviathan terranigma11 mE Reno'sLover Eiennoren AnA La Pana83 Missy airhead622 aria mikkie jnarusasuc Anon sadistickiss redtatsu pwnd pwnd bluegenjutsu

KinkySweetheart anony KyuubiGurl Nusku Zigana Gwyllion Mistress-Starfire Sage Jenniyah Midnight Shining Star DarkRavie Fic Slayr Sailor Epyon Calamus -Satans Devil Ragna- xXShadowedfateXx Pendulous Threads Lady Silverhawk kris Toki Mirage Tsumetai Taiyoukai maria Sqry XDC Harusume Shimo Ino Hiki-chan hink moonlover825 and A pimp named slickback – I'm really sorry for that!

There were a lot of names to mention and if I have forgotten anyone, I sincerely apologize, just as I apologize for the VERY late update on this story.

I have now finally updated and I leave it for you to try out. Please tell me what you thought and also please, no flames, just constructive criticism.

I also want to thank my Beta T.P (Tere) for the help that was supplied with this. I needed it

xx

**An Interwoven Web Of Deceit**

**Chapter 18 - Finding Out And Understanding Yourself**

A dark cloud had settled itself over Yamanaka Ino. So dense, that it was noticeable to everyone around her. Villagers on the street side stepped her in apprehension as she passed and dogs slunk away, tails firmly between legs. Her steps were steady and her mouth was set in a firm line, but her shoulders were slumped and her eyes strained with unshed tears.

Upon reaching and entering her house, she proceeded to walk past her mother and brother, ignoring them both and entered her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She then went to her dresser and sat herself down, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Nothing happened!

Maybe if she kept on telling herself this, it would end up being true.

She blinked. The motion of her eyelid jolted the water pooled at the edges of her eyes, causing a trickle to drip onto her cheek. As if this opened the floodgate that released the dam, tears began to flow from her eyes. Ino watched detached, as they hit the top of her dresser. She never cried silently, always with noise. She supposed it was an automatic response to show that she wanted and was asking to be comforted.

"Ino dear. Are you alright?" Her mother tapped on her door, concern clearly evident in her voice.

"I'm fine." The tears didn't stop but she managed to make her voice sound in a light enough tone as not to arouse suspicion. "I'm just tired." Asking for comfort at this time would ruin her 'nothing happened' statement.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I am."

Ino heard her mother move away and leaning back in her chair, she sighed.

"It wasn't consensual," she muttered finally. "Sasuke was forcing himself on him."

Denial had struck and struck hard. Ino wiped her eyes and stared down at the top of her dresser. On it sat a bracelet of small circular beads, bluish in colour and about the size of a pea. Ino smiled thinly and lifted the trinket up to eye level, staring closely at one of the beads. The blue tinge seemed to move in a circular pattern, white flecks twisting between the blue.

The bracelet itself just seemed like another piece of jewelry but was actually part of a jutsu that she had been working on with Naruto while training for the chunin exams.

xx

_"Okay, hold out your palm."_

_Naruto sat against one of the training posts, legs bent at the knees in front of him. Ino sat between them, her back against his chest. Both of his hands were cupped around one of her own._

_"Now concentrate," Naruto told her. "Imagine your chakra spinning in your hand, like a small tornado. Just focus on that and I'__ll do the rest."_

_Naruto had already informed her that to create the jutsu would be a combined effort. She had seen and attempted to mimic his rasengan but had failed miserably. She had only succeeded in exhausting herself. Making her chakra visible in her hand had taken all of her strength and she had only seen a small flicker._

_Ino stared at her palm and concentrated her chakra onto it, imagining it spinning in a circle. Naruto moved his hands slightly and Ino felt his body stiffen as he concentrated._

_A sudden flash appeared on her palm. Then, a mixed mist of blue and white began spinning in what looked like a confined space that from what Ino could see seemed to keep getting smaller._

_"Keep focusing," Naruto said between clenched teeth. Ino felt sweat drip from her brow but kept on focusing her chakra onto her hand. She kept on until she felt like she was going to collapse and only then did Naruto tell her to stop._

_A marble, or what she thought was a marble fell onto her hand, or what she thought was a marble. It was small, pea sized and blue._

_"What's this?" she asked, carefully holding it between her thumb and index finger, and leaning back against Naruto's chest as she tried to regain her breath. "It's tiny."_

_"It'__s a chakra bead."_

_"This thing? Is this all that I can muster together?" Ino grumbled. "That'__s pathetic._

_"It'__s compressed chakra," Naruto chuckled. "I made it as small as possible without it exploding. This is all of your chakra in its smallest form. If its hit__'__s a solid surface, it will cause a large explosion, like a grenade."_

_"You made me a chakra grenade?" Ino asked dubiously. Naruto shook his head._

_"No. This is a smaller, solid form of the Rasengan. Your aim is not to explode it on impact, but to make it stay in the same form. That is harder."_

_Ino stared at him while he took out a length of string. Taking the bead from Ino__'__s fingers, he pushed one end through the bead so it hung like a piece on a necklace._

_"You are going to get your chakra levels back to normal again, then we'__re going to make another one, then another. In between these times we have to practice throwing these."_

_Ino had only a vague idea on what he had meant by that._

_"You want me to throw this, as hard as I can at, let'__s say a tree and make sure that it doesn__'__t explode?" Ino stared at her boyfriend. "Can I ask what the point of that is? Would it actually do anything?" She picked up a stone and then threw it at a large rock. "My aim is good, but throwing a tiny bead isn__'__t going to do anything."_

_"You'__ll be surprised," was the reply, "and besides, you aren__'__t going to throw it with your hand, but with your chakra!"_

_"Explain!"_

xx

After weeks of training, Ino had a new move which she was extremely proud of, but Naruto commentedif she ever tried to use it on him, he could release her chakra from its seal and make it dissipate or explode on her. A double edged knife!

He had never said however, that she couldn't use it on anyone else and she had the perfect target in mind. Her lips curved into a smirk.

"Ino," her mothers voice echoed up the stairs and pulled her out of her musing, "there's someone at the door to see you."

"Okay."

Ino put the bracelet down, then checked in the mirror to make sure her eyes weren't all puffy and red, as she wiped her lightly damp cheeks. She looked fine, maybe a little bit tired, but mostly fine.

While walking down the stairs, she heard her mother making polite conversation with whoever was visiting. Upon reaching the door, she stared questioningly at her visitors. Neji and Hinata. Hinata smiled at her warily. This was understandable, Ino thought. Hinata's feelings for Naruto had been obvious for everyone but the boy himself. It was the cold look that Neji was directing at her what she didn't understand.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely, regardless of the odd looks that she was receiving.

"I am here to relay a message," Neji replied. Ino noted that even his voice was cold, "Hinata just wanted to see how you were."

Ino turned back to the other girl, who blushed and looked away, her shoulders sagging slightly. A quick poke in the ribs by Neji however, had her standing straight again and looking back. "I'm sorry to impose Ino-chan, but Sakura-chan asked me to check and see if you were okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?" The words came out harsher than she had intended, but suspicion was beginning to rise in Ino. Hinata stepped back slightly at the tone of voice, but replied to the question.

"You were supposed to meet her an hour ago at the BBQ restaurant. Choji-kun, Sakura-chan and Shikamaru-kun are all there waiting for you."

"Oh, right," Suspicion deflated and she sighed. She had forgotten about meeting with them after working herself up. Instead she had gone straight home. "Could you tell her that I don't feel too good and I wont be meeting her today. I'm sorry."

Hinata nodded. Ino gave her a small smile in return, then turned back to Neji.

"What's the message?" She was rather blunt with him but she had never got on with the older Hyuuga. In fact, part of the time he gave her the creeps.

"The Hokage wishes to see you as soon as possible."

"Did she say why?"

"I do not ask about things which are not my concern," was the toneless reply.

'No, of course you don't,' Ino muttered to herself. "No problem," she said aloud, "I'll go in a bit."

Neji nodded and turned to leave. Hinata smiled and turned to follow after her cousin. Ino sighed and closed the door after their retreating figures.

It was a day of hell!

xx

"So, what's troubling you Naruto?"

Iruka broke apart his chopsticks and began stirring around the noodles in the bowl in front of him. Naruto sat on a stool beside him, his own bowl of Ramen in front of him. The owner of Ichicaku Ramen smiled at them both, and then turned to serve another customer.

The blond haired boy had turned up on his doorstep an hour earlier, an expression on his face that Iruka couldn't remember seeing before. Concerned, he had put down his paper grading and had then proceeded to drag Naruto to their familiar haunt to question him.

Naruto stared down at his bowl, chopsticks in hand. He hadn't taken a single bite yet. Iruka couldn't see his eyes, shrouded as they were by his hair

"Well?" Iruka blew on the noodles that he had wound onto the chopsticks, balancing them steadily and then ate them. "You can't keep problems bottled up inside."

"I don't know what to do Iruka-sensei," Naruto finally spoke. His voice sounded shaky, nothing like his normal, exuberant tone. "I don't know what is right anymore."

"In what context do you mean?" Iruka asked, puzzled by the cryptic answer.

"Relationships," Naruto finally scooped up some noodles and began to eat them. "I need to know what the right thing to do is."

Iruka stared at the young man sitting next to him in surprise. Of course, he had heard that Naruto and Yamanaka Ino ware dating. He had been surprised at first, knowing of his obvious crush on Sakura but, in the end he was happy for his former charge. This was not something that he was expecting. Maybe asking for help and pointers on a smooth flowing relationship, not this confused comment.

"Naruto," Iruka put his chopsticks down beside his bowl, and then turned himself slightly so that he had a better view of the boy sitting beside him. "I can't help you if you don't explain to me what the problem is. I'm assuming that it has something to do with Ino."

Naruto sighed and threw his chopsticks into his half eaten bowl of Ramen. "Kind of, I mean, yeah, partly." He then turned to face Iruka, a worried look in his eyes. "What do you do," he began, "if you are dating someone but have strong feelings for someone else?"

Iruka relaxed his tense shoulders in relief. Was that all it was? "Well…" he began, but stopped when Naruto held up his hand

"Wait Iruka sensei. I haven't finished yet," he lowered his hand and stared down at his lap. "What if the other person was a… a… a guy?"

Iruka, who had just taken a sip of tea when Naruto revealed this eye opener, choked on the hot liquid and immediatly had a coughing fit.

"Iruka sensei?"

"I'm okay Naruto," Iruka said between coughs, "it just went down the wrong way." Getting control of himself, he stared back at the other boy. Naruto was once again staring down at his lap, his eyes hidden.

"Let's start from the beginning," Iruka placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, "so I can understand this."

Naruto nodded. "I'll try. What do you need to know first?"

"Who is it?" Iruka rushed out, "that you are telling me that you have feelings for?" He had an idea, but verification would be nice.

"Sasuke."

The name was whispered and Iruka had to strain to hear it, but hear it he did.

"Sasuke huh," Iruka leaned back on his stool. "So when did this start?"

"What are you implying? When did what start?" Naruto growled. "He's been following me, changing himself into Ino and kissing me and outright kissing me," here Naruto blushed. "Sasuke made me get these feelings and now they won't stop. Aren't you supposed to have your girlfriend on your mind all of the time? Not your rival and best friend. I want the pain to stop damn it!"

The last sentence was yelled out, with Naruto slamming his fists down on the counter. He stood up when he did this, his stool falling over behind him.

"Naruto," Iruka leaned down and picked up the stool that Naruto had dropped. "Calm down." When the stool was placed back where it had fallen from, he guided Naruto to sit back on it. "I want to help you but its hard when you loose your temper like this."

"Sorry," was the quiet response. Iruka smiled.

"It's fine. Let's just discuss this, okay." At Naruto's nod, he continued, "When did Sasuke begin following you?"

"I think it was when I began to be friends with Ino," Naruto mused. "He began to gripe at me for spending all of my time with her and not with him. He became very nasty to Ino, when he used to just ignore her presence. I knew then that something was going on but I had no idea what."

"Then what happened?"

"Ino found out about the Kyuubi," here, Iruka gave his old charge a concerned look but Naruto didn't notice, "then I told Sasuke. He took it rather well, considering I was expecting the worst. It wasn't long after this that Sasuke transformed himself into Ino and kissed me. I only know it was him because he kissed me again on the tapestry corridor of the Hokage tower."

"You were on the Fourths floor?" Iruka questioned. What were you doing up there?"

"I was exploring. I liked the picture's there, that's all." Naruto grumbled. "Anyway, a few days later, Sasuke practically molested me in my apartment and just a few hours ago, he did it again, just outside the shopping district." He leaned down so that his head rested on the counter. "What do I do Iruka sensei?"

What could he say? Iruka was at a loss. Naruto did not want to hear what was painfully obvious to Iruka, but he wasn't going to lie to the boy either.

"Iruka sensei?"

Being blunt was best, Iruka decided, otherwise Naruto wouldn't get it.

"Who are you in love with Naruto?"

"Huh? What does that…."

"Who?"

"Ino, I guess," was the boy's less than enthusiastic reply.

Iruka stared at him. "What do you mean, you guess?"

Naruto scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "I'm not sure I know what it entails to love someone. Sasuke mentioned it too. He told me I loved Ino, but I wasn't in love with her. Do you know what that means sensei?" He turned his questioning eyes towards Iruka.

"I do, but I can't explain it exactly." Iruka decided to leave the Ramen stand. Any revelations revealed to Naruto would be better in a deserted area to prevent damage. He placed money on the counter to pay for the two uneaten bowls of Ramen and then gestured to Naruto to follow him. "Let's do it this way. Explain to me, exactly what your feelings tell you about Ino."

"Ino," Naruto mused. "Well, she's fun and nice. She listens when I talk. She worries about me and doesn't like it when I'm upset…"

"No Naruto," Iruka sighed. "I don't want you to tell me about her. I want to know what you feel. What do you feel when she is near. When you hug her and when you kiss her."

"Oh," Naruto tried again. "I like her hugs. They make me feel accepted. Being around her makes me happy and her kisses are sweet and warm, but.."

"But?" Iruka led them both into a small field with a children's playground situated in the middle. He gestured for Naruto to sit on one of the benches and then sat down beside him.

Naruto drew both legs up onto the bench and looped his arms around his knees, resting his chin on them. "It feels wrong somehow, like what I'm doing should not be happening. I can't explain it but it feels like there is something missing."

"How about Sasuke? How do you feel when you are with him?"

"Scared!" Naruto didn't even pause to think, the answer ready. "He scares me. The way that he claims he feels about me. What I see in his eyes when he looks at me. It draws me in and I can't look away. I start off refusing his advances but I always end up inviting him for more."

"Just scared?" Iruka was shocked at Naruto's explanation. "Nothing more?"

"It's hard to explain Iruka sensei," Naruto pressed his eyes into his clenched fists. "When he kissed me, I felt like I was being swept away. It felt so right, but also wrong. All I could think about was how much this would hurt Ino. I couldn't do that to her. I _can't_ do that to her."

"Naruto," Iruka spoke gently. "Are you happy?"

Naruto raised his head and stared up at him. "Am… I… Happy?" he repeated hollowly.

"Are you?" Iruka asked again. "I'm not asking you if you are happy making others happy. I'm asking if denying yourself something is making you happy. Is playing Ino's boyfriend making you happy?"

"I… er…"

Iruka stood up and moved to stand in front of Naruto. "Is Ino constantly on your mind? No. Is Sasuke? Yes. Do you feel for Ino, but not romantically? Yes. Do you enjoy kissing her? No." Iruka was on a roll, ticking things off on his fingers.

"Iruka-sensei. Don't…"

"I'm just reviewing what you have told me Naruto," Iruka interrupted. "You asked for help and I'm giving it to you."

The blonde haired boy stared up at him from where he was seated and Iruka noticed that tears had actually welled up in his eyes, his expression scared.

Sasuke was right Naruto," Iruka drew the boy towards him, hugging him gently. "You do love Ino, but you're not 'in love' with her. You care about her but that's about it. You say that you can't hurt her, but by withholding the truth you are automatically hurting her and yourself. You have to tell her."

"But I can't…" Naruto loosened himself from the hug and looked pleadingly up at his ex-sensei.

"You must Naruto. It is the lesser of two evils. It may hurt Ino to hear it but it will hurt more later on when she realised that you have been lying to her. Pretences don't last forever and sooner or later you will be found out. You must stop lying to yourself and to both Ino and Sasuke." Iruka felt like he was monologing but he couldn't help himself. He had to get it through to Naruto. "If you have feelings for Sasuke, explore them. Don't run away from them. He obviously feels something for you and from what you've said; you return those feelings, if just a little bit."

Naruto was silent, just sitting on the bench with a look of contemplation on his face. At least, Iruka thought, that was a more promising look than the teary eyed fear from a few minutes earlier. The silence lasted for a few moments, and then Naruto looked back up at Iruka.

"So, I have to break up with Ino?"

Iruka sighed. "First of all, you need to explain things to her about yourself. She needs to understand the situation that you are both in. If between you, you decide that a breakup is necessary, then you will break up." Here, Iruka paused and rested both hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Also, be aware of Sasuke's feelings. Don't trample on them as if they are nothing. If anything, he's probably just as confused as you are, only he doesn't have anyone else that he needs to worry about."

"Would you… " Naruto paused, his fingers gripping tightly onto the material of his trousers, near his knee's. "Would you be disgusted with me sensei, if I decided that I wanted to have a relationship with Sasuke?"

xx

And here I will end it. It was so hard writing Naruto and Iruka's conversation but I felt that Naruto needed to vent and Iruka is the one person I feel that Naruto could talk to.

I hope you enjoyed. Please read and review

Rie

xx


	19. Who Else Knows?

I'm going to have to start by making a full apology.

I have been very slack I admit in updating this story. I'm going to give my run of excuses though, to follow the trend!

a)I moved house after getting all of the crappy mortgage problems sorted.

b)It took a while to get the internet properly installed since we couldn't decide on which server to go with.

c)Depression set in, causing me to go to the doctors and get medication.

d)I got idea's for two other stories, completely different from this one which took precedence in my mind. (gonna ask your opinions on them later!)

e)lack of motivation.

f)reading other good fan fictions.

g)finally getting round to watching Naruto Shippuden.

Just your usual run of the mill problems. All I can say is I'm sorry. I'm also going to go through this story with a fine tooth comb and fix all errors, including some facts, spelling errors and honorific correction.

To everyone who reviewed this story, thank you so much for sticking with this and I hope this chapter is ok. Nothing really happens here but its something….

XX

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AN INTERWOVERN WEB OF DECEIT

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Chapter 19 - Who else knows?

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Sasuke was experiencing sexual frustration in a desperate way.

When he had left Naruto behind by the trees, he had been calm and composed. Almost serene, even though he had been worked up. It had been two hours and now all that he could think of was Naruto. All that he could taste was Naruto. All that he could smell was Naruto. His hands twitched at the memory of touching Naruto. His thoughts were totally Naruto orientated.

He was going to kill Sakura!

He should burn the book. A quick Katon could have done that. If it would have solved his immediate problem, he would have done it. Finding the author and kicking their ass might resolve a small part of his frustration but he had no idea on who that was.

His hands were shaking!

He stared at his trembling limbs in disbelief. A shinobi's hands did not shake! They had to be as steady as a rock. Shaking hands were a sign of a mind in turmoil but Sasuke wasn't in turmoil. He was frustrated.

What he couldn't understand was why. Why Naruto? He was a loud, obnoxious eyesore, klutzy and irritating. Of all the people in the village, why did it have to be him?

"Yo."

Sasuke vaguely heard Kakashi's greeting, but he ignored it, pushing one of his shaking hands into his hair and gripping onto some of the strands, tugging on them non to gently. Maybe he had caught something? Yeah, that could be it. It would explain the shaking, the frustration and the need.

Sasuke. Are you okay?" He felt Kakashi grab onto his arm but he didn't flinch, too internally frustrated to worry about external distractions in such a way. "Sasuke!" Kakashi began to shake him slightly.

"What?" Sasuke glared up at his sensei, deciding to take focus on the here and now. Kakashi's concerned 'eye' looked down at him.

"Spacing out is kind of strange for you Sasuke. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Okay, sure. I believe you." Kakashi let go of his arm and took a step back. "You're never that distracted."

"I'm fine," Sasuke began to walk away, then growled in annoyance as he was followed.

"Seriously Sasuke, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I'm just having a few personal problems, that's all."

"Like?"

Sasuke's hand found itself in his hair again, pulling on the strands in the same way as before.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

Sasuke turned around and stared up suspiciously at the taller man. "Who are you and what have you done with Kakashi? Kakashi is never this interested."

His sensei lost the worried look and suddenly seemed vaguely amused.

"Well, when one of my students suddenly develops the shakes and then begin mumbling to themselves, I think I should get interested."

"I was mumbling out loud?" Sasuke commented, then glared up at Kakashi. "Even if I was, its none of your business. Leave me alone." Deciding to remove himself from his Sensei's prying nose, he leaped up into the nearest tree and moved away.

After aimlessly moving around Konoha for a while, he finally made his way over to the Hokage monument and sat on one of the platforms above the Thirds image, overlooking the village. A gentle breeze was blowing from the east, shifting his hair slightly. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to calm down his frustrated self.

"It's nice up here, isn't it?" a voice asked from behind him. Sasuke twisted around quickly in surprise, not sensing anyone creep up on him. When he saw who it was, his expression became questioning. What was she doing here?

"You look pensive but anxious, a peculiar look for you to be sure." Tsunade leaned her head on her and so that she was staring at him from a slight angle. "Are you okay?" She was dressed in her usual attire of top and pants, the Hokage robes nowhere in sight.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sasuke asked warily, not sure how to take the Hokage's sudden apparent interest in him. She had never really liked him very much.

"Well, you know, relationship problems. Difficulty in expressing yourself?" she passed him a water canister, which he took and opened. "That's what usually causes the expressions that you are sporting."

"I'm not sure what you are getting at."

"What are your intentions against my little brat?" was Tsunade's sudden and blunt question. Sasuke nearly choked on the water he had just taken a mouthful of. "And don't you dare lie to me," she continued. I know what's been going on between you two so don't feed me any crap."

Sasuke stared at her, disbelief etched across his face. Tsunade knew?

"How did you…?"

"How did I know?" The Hokage grinned at him. "You think that I don't know what happens in this village, especially on the Tapestry Corridor of my own tower?"

Sasuke slapped a hand over his eyes in exasperation. Of course. Sakura. Surprise surprise. "What exactly do you need to know?" he sighed in resignation. He moved his position on the rock slightly, trying to make himself more comfortable. This was fine. He needed help but there was no way that he was going to ask for it. From what he knew of the Hokage, she was usually very blunt and often pointed things out without being asked. She was kind of like Naruto in that respect and also, he would rather talk to her than Kakashi. "Don't ask me to monologue it because I don't know what you want to hear," he snapped when he saw her open her mouth. "Ask a question and I'll answer it"

"Touchy much," she smirked at him, making him frown back. "Okay, for starters, why did you kiss him?"

"Start with the stupid ones," Sasuke muttered, then spoke slightly louder, "obviously because I wanted to."

"That wasn't a very informative answer."

"That wasn't a very specific question."

"You want specific, I'll give you specific," she growled. "Up in my tower, what were you thinking before you kissed him? What made you decide to do it at that moment? Have the two of you done anything else?"

"Okay, okay," Sasuke's hand found itself in his hair again, "if you must know, I wanted to touch him. I just had to and had been building up for ages. As for the other question, not enough to be satisfied." He looked over at the Hokage who stared back at him in contemplation.

"Was he happy with what you were doing?" she finally asked after a few moments of silence. "Did he want it?"

"I never forced him if that is what you're implying. Everything that we did was done with each others consent."

"Really?" an eyebrow was raised.

"Yes, really," a glare was returned.

Sasuke felt himself flinch when a small smile appeared on Tsunade's face and it began to grow until she was beaming at him.

"That's brilliant!"

"Huh?"

"It's fantastic. Brilliant material. Who needs that pervert Sanin anyway!"

"Um…" was all that Sasuke could come out with. He had no idea what the Hokage was getting at. Females. He didn't understand them.

"Okay, lets get down to business," Tsunade pulled a scroll and pen from her robes and unravelled it. "Do you know exactly how Naruto feels yet? Does he take the lead? He must do occasionally. How did you both tell Ino? I bet she was upset."

"Hokage-sama," Sasuke interrupted, "Naruto hasn't actually told Yamanaka anything yet but I think she kind of saw us earlier."

"Saw you?"

"I… er, noticed that she was stalking me for some reason while I was out shopping with Sakura and Naruto. I was annoyed with both her and Naruto so I, um, purposely enticed him while she was hiding. I'm sure that she saw everything." Sasuke hesitantly looked up at the blonde woman and was surprised to see a thoughtful look on her face.

"Did Naruto know that she was there?"

"I don't think so. He was a little bit distracted."

"By you no doubt."

Sasuke looked away.

"Are you regretting it?" came the query.

"No," Sasuke ground his teeth, "but it seems like no matter what I try, I cant get it through the dobe's head that he needs to be more honest with himself. I know that he feels something but he is in clear denial."

"Hmm," Tsunade stretched her arms above her head and looked towards the sun, "I think I'd better go back before I'm caught again." She stuffed the roll of parchment back into her robe. "Before I leave though, a couple of things. One, let Naruto deal with Ino. If he's in denial like you claim, you wont be able to push him into admitting that he is not in love with his girlfriend."

Sasuke nodded. Tsunade held up two fingers

"Two, the best thing that you can do is give her some space," she stood up and brushed down her trousers, freeing herself from the dust. "The phrase 'absence makes the heart grow fonder,' is used for a reason you know."

"When you say absence," Sasuke stared at Tsunade, apprehension etched on his face, "you don't mean…"

Tsunade waved her hand in a dismissing gesture. "No, no. I mean stop approaching him about it. Act like nothing has changed." She stared at him for a moment, a sly smile on her face. "Treat it as a mission if you want. Do everything that you can without getting physical to make Uzumaki Naruto crack."

Sasuke stared at her, dubiously for a moment, then a smirk appeared on his face. His confidence in the situation was returning and thinking about it, riling up the dobe in this way could be fun!

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(xxxxxxxx)

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"What is your opinion on your relationship Ino?"

Ino dropped her spoon into her bowl at the sudden question; hot tomato soup splashing onto her arm and she hissed at the spike of slight pain. Naruto held out a paper napkin and she took it gratefully, wiping off the congealed orange splat from her arm.

"Why do you ask?" she finally answered, outwardly unconcerned but inwardly worried.

"Do you think it is working?"

"Of course I do." Ino was vehement. She stared at her boyfriend, who had a serious expression on his face. "We are good together. I love you. You know this."

"I know," Naruto closed his eyes.

"So why are you questioning this?" Ino's voice raised. "Have you been talking to someone who doesn't like that we are in a relationship? Have you been talking to Sasuke?"

As soon as Sasuke's name was mentioned, Naruto stared at her with narrowed eyes.

"Sasuke! What has Sasuke got to do with this conversation? I was asking your opinion, not anyone else's."

Sasuke has everything to do with this." Ino stood up and slapped her hands down on the table, either side of her soup bowl. She was breathing heavily, on the verge of a panic attack. "He hates me and especially hates that I'm with you."

"I didn't want your opinion on Sasuke's thoughts; I asked for your opinion on _our_ relationship."

Naruto spoke calmly, but his manner had become cold. "I most certainly didn't ask to start an argument."

"I… I…" Ino felt her eyes watering. What happened to her refusal of acceptance. She had denied what she had seen and now was acting suspiciously accusing. She was contradicting herself. "I'm sorry Naruto," she said quietly. She paused for a second, then continued on, wanting to explain herself. "The question scared me. I thought you were starting a conversation that ended up with you breaking up with me." Ino stared at Naruto and saw him flinch at her statement, although only slightly. 'No,' she thought angrily, 'I wont let him do that to me.' "I'm sorry," she said again. "I over reacted there."

"Actually Ino, I…"

"Mothers invited you over for dinner again, tonight actually," she said brightly. "Makoto keeps going on about how much he want to see you again. Dad too. She's going to cook a big family meal for us."

"But I…"

"And don't say that you cant go," Ino interrupted again. "I know for a fact that you don't have plans already and Mother has already been shopping for the ingredients. She loves you coming over." Now Ino hadn't lied although she had exaggerated just a little. Her mother had told her to invite him over but it wasn't the big deal that she was making it out to be. Mother had wanted to cheer her up. "That's okay right?"

"Sure, it's fine," Naruto replied flatly, seemingly giving up on the conversation.

Ino smiled widely.

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(xxxxxxxx)

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The door to the apartment closed and Naruto slammed his head on the table. His forehead protector doing its job of protecting his forehead from most of the pain from the impact., but the clang of the metal hitting the wood echoed around the empty kitchen. He groaned. Not only had he failed to have a conversation about breaking up with Ino, he had also just made his headache flare up again.

After his talk with Iruka, he had thought that his worries had been sorted out. What he was feeling and what he wanted. His latest talk with Ino had twisted it yet again.

Family. To be precise, her family. He had been treated as a part of Ino's family. Arie-san was always fusing over him, making sure that he was dressed neatly, had enough to eat and was genuinely friendly. Ino's dad was gruff, but occasionally smiled at him and usually rapped his knuckles over the back of his head in greeting. Then there was Makoto.

Makoto was adorable. There was no other word that could describe him better. Naruto had always gotten on with younger kids, especially with Konohamaru and pals, but Makoto was nothing like the terrible trio, always smiling at him and demanding hugs. He was a very affectionate boy. Naruto really didn't want to give him up, but he would have to if he stopped dating Ino.

He shook himself out of his musings. If he didn't leave soon, he would be late for a sparring session with Neji. Since for some reason, Sasuke had made himself scarce, Neji had offered to practice with him. Working with Neji helped him with his long distance attacks which he was never too good at. With Sasuke it had always been hand to hand, with a little bit of fire techniques thrown in.

Grabbing the pack he had placed by the table before eating lunch, he made his way out of the apartment.

(xxxx)

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A short chapter I know but at least its something right? The next chapter will DEFINITELY be up faster than this one. Please, any comments you have, tell me, including constructive criticism but no flames.

Thank you

Rie

xx


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